Now it's just ranting...

...It seems that it was decided beforehand that the story from Ireland would be a general rejection of the Papal letter. In fact, this has not occurred - but that hasn't stopped the Internet from buzzing on the subject, the strong message being that of course the letter was deemed inadequate, that the Pope should have devoted his Rome speech to the subject, etc etc etc.

This is all gtetting gross. Trawling the Internet, one can see that the story is moving on from the real horror of events in Irish orphanages and parishes over the years to a general denouncing of the Church, of Catholic and Christian morals, of the idea of a belief in God.

There is a sort of bullying going on: if some one questioned after Mass in Ireland wanted to state that she or he had found the Pope's intervention useful and valuable, the result might be interrogation:"Why do you say that? Which bits do you consider acceptable? Does anyone else share your opinion? Are you likely to change your mind?" or even just ranting: Ireland is now losing the Faith, people want to loosen their bonds with a dreadful past, no one will ever trust priests again...

And of course there's an agenda: those who hate the Church's moral teachings are gleeful at revelations of priests' sins, and postively slathering at the dream of a great prize, the destruction of a large Catholic celebration. The forthcoming Papal visit to Britain has become the major goal for attack, and the attackers think they are going to enjoy doing it. Raw and wounded, the Church's defenders are only too well aware of the months ahead. We are also conscious of an ability to hang on and see the good finally emerge. We're in for the long haul.

You owe it...

...to yourself, to the cause of truth, and to fairness, to find out what the Pope is really saying and doing at this time. Check out this blog for some useful material. And this is relevant too.

A day for praying...

...well, every day is a day for that. But today, at a crowded Westminster Cathedral, were the thoughts of others, like mine, tangled up with the headlines and the anguish over the child-abuse scandals? The Gospel reading - the woman taken in adultery - seemed so poignant. As we poured into Mass across the piazza, it seemed like any other Sunday. We prayed for the Pope and his forthcoming visit, for the Queen, for the suffering and for all in need...the choir sang the chants, the crosses were draped in purple cloth as Passiontide begins...

I met, by prearrangement, a young relative at Mass and had been looking forward to our day together. It was, as always, a joy to be together and catching up on news, and a grand day to be in London in springtime - daffodils blooming in St James' Park, people milling about in Trafalgar Square and down Whitehall, open-air cafes plying their trade on this first sunny Sunday of the year.

But I knew that meanwhile the headlines would announce that the (unjust) verdict of commentators in Ireland was that the Pope's letter was inadequate. Buying a newspaper confirmed that. For the next few days that's going to be the line, and rational discussion is going to be difficult. After that...

A time for prayer. Lots of it.

It's a good letter...

...written with love, genuine humility, and a clearf sense of direction. Read it here.

Did you know...

...that you can send an email to the Holy Father? Why not write to him now and tell him of your love and loyalty, with an assurance of your prayers?

You can find the address here.

Before you write to him, say a special prayer that he will be given strength and courage in the weeks ahead - and that his visit to Britain will be a big success. Then write and tell him that is what you have done, and that you will continue to pray for him.

Pass this information on to a friend too.

Today...

...I visited my mother as I often do on a weekday afternoon and we went out for a cup of tea. As we walked along, we said the Rosary together (Sorrowful Mysteries - Friday) for the Holy Father. We don't usually walk down suburban streets muttering Hail Marys, but today it was just the one thing we could do that was useful. It's also important to keep informed so as to be able to talk intelligently and truthfully in this firestorm of shrieking around the Pope and the Church...

By a most cruel irony...

...today would normally be a particularly happy and pleasant day for Pope Benedict, because it is St Joseph's Day, his name-day. As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he used to invite others who shared his name and thus his feast-day to join him in a trip out into the countryside for a walk and a meal...

Today the media storm is roaring around the Vatican, and Pope Benedict - who as Archbishop, Cardinal and Pope has never been implicated in any of the ghastly sex-abuse horrors or their cover-ups - is having to hold steady and face all things with courage. The attempts to drag his name into the stories that are dominating headlines across Europe have been sordid but so far haven't managed to achieve their aim of fatal damage. In one instance his assistance in sending for therapy a priest - who had been removed from active duty in another diocese - was undermined when the vicar-general of Munich, without informing Archbishop Ratzinger, later assigned the man to parish work and thus to opportunities to commit vile offences against other children. And that's all. His record at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was one of efficiency and dedication in tackling these cases - would that others in episcopal authority had done as much.

We would do well to emulate the Pope's example and hold steady. But we also need to pray - and to tell the truth when the media roaring allows us to do so, which will be the case over the next weeks and months...

The Papal visit to Britain...

...now has a website. Worth a visit: here.

Pray today...

...for Pope Benedict.

On the sexual abuse crisis...

...Read this analysis by John Allen.

The first entries...

...in a schools project launched by the Association of Catholic Women to mark the Papal visit have arrived. Delightful work by children writing about St Peter, the first Pope, about the role of the Papacy, and about Pope Benedict. It will be tough choosing the winners, but fortunately we have plenty of prizes on offer, generously provided by the CTS.

Want to get involved? If you are a teacher, click on to that link. It is an excellent class project, the children will enjoy it, and you will be participating in something that you will cherish as a link with the Papal visit of 2010.

Keep this in your prayers...

...from now right through to September, and through the days of his visit. The details of Papa Benedict's trip to Britain are now published. SAY SPECIAL PRAYERS from now onwards. The visit will bring out many attacks on the Church. Get praying.

The ranting rubbish...

...of The Times on the subject of the Catholic Church is getting beyond gross. The poor author of today's bizarre rant sounds as though she is slightly drunk. What's the motive here? Does she think she is going to fulfil the 19th-century anti-Catholic bigots' dream, and "crush the evil Church of Rome"? What fantasies does she cherish?

What is happening...

...to ordinary free speech in Britain?

In a mainstream newspaper today:

"Mums and Dads. In our article of September 16 2009, we stated that 'all the evidence shows that a child has the best life outcomes if he or she is adopted into a stable traditional married family - and that means a mother and a father, not two dads'. We would like to make it clear that there is conflicting evidence both supporting and rebutting this position."

So a newspaper now cannot assert that a stable traditional married family, with a mum and a dad, not two dads, is the best way to raise a child, unless it states that there is "conflicting avidence both supporting and rebutting this position".

What happens, then, if a newspaper wants to assert that "evidence shows that two men in an active homosexual relationship are the best environment in which to raise a child"? Will the paper be obliged to state that there is evidence both supporting and rebutting this position?

An early morning 'phone call...

...from the BBC World Service. Would I take part in a radio discussion about the Catholic Church's celibacy requirement for priests? Haven't done any radio discussions recently, but said yes. Discussion took place an hour or so later: it's faintly bizarre to be sitting at home talking away on a telephone knowing it's being broadcast worldwide, but it's much less worrying than having to tear up to London... trains, Tube, bus, rush-hour traffic, and the panic of getting to the studio on time.

Points that came up in the discussion: most sex offenders are in fact married or in relationships, (eg the ghastly case at Soham); celibacy is not a Medieval invention, Christ himself was unmarried and gave himself wholly to his Church, the Apostles "left everything" to follow him.

It is ghasty to see how sin covers all sorts of things with filth: I remember being taught, years and years ago, "no sin is ever really private" and that is certainly true. The evil of some priests in what they probably considered private acts decades ago is spreading its harm and horror in the Church today and destroying faith and trust, hope and plans for evangelisation.

Papa Benedict is holding steady - he has a clear conscience and the inner calm that comes from a faithful relationship with God, plus considerable personal courage. This week marks the 25th anniversary of World Youth Day and Papa B. gave a powerful message to the young, centred on the call to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Quoting the young man who asked Christ "What must I do to inherit eternal life" he urged that young people still ask this profound question today: "What must I do? What might be my plan of life?...

"Do not be afraid to address these questions! Far from overwhelming you, they express great aspirations, which are present in your heart. Hence, they are to be listened to. They await answers that are not superficial, but able to satisfy your authentic expectations of life and happiness."

You probably won't hear...

...the facts about the current sex-abuse scandals and the Church, and Rome,and so on, so get some info here

And this although rather dense and technical, is of importance in understanding the logistics of how the Church's law can tackle such things.

And, incidentally, there is some interesting stuff here about the rescue of Jews in wartime Italy under Pius XII.

Mothering Sunday...

...and at Westminster Cathedral, after the packed Sung Mass, children were given flowers to give to their mothers.

Recently I had the privilege of meeting Abigail Witchalls, the brave young mother paralysed from the neck down following a random stabbing attack in Surrey. Her Catholic faith and her great courage have been an inspiration to people across Britain.

And while on the subject of mothers, here is a brief but relevant comment about the present Government's policies...

Be ready for...

...some sustained attacks on the Church over the next weeks, as attempts are made to shipwreck the plans for the Holy Father's visit later this year.

Get yourself informed and get thinking. Get reading. Get involved.

Ignorant and prejudiced...

...attacks on the Holy Father in today's Times. This has echoes of the rubbish printed about John Henry Newman a century and a half ago.

A happy, happy day...

...at a delightful family gathering to celebrate the engagement of two dear young people, with a magnificent Tea complete with scones (with jam and clotted cream), and qauntities of delicious Cakes, and smoked salmon sandwiches, and champagne, and more...all in a glorious setting in a particularly lovely corner of England,with different generations of the two families meeting and talking and enjoying themselves, and small children scattered cheerily about, and a log fire glowing, and young friends of the happy pair laughing and chatting and making introductions...

It was an afternoon to make an auntie's heart rejoice.

This week...

...I attended a study day organised by the Council of Christians and Jews. We were welcomed to the very beautiful Bevis Marks synagogue in the City of London. It is place which has a tangible sense of prayer, 350 years old and still in use for regular worship both on the Sabbath and on weekdays.

By coincidence, two items came my way this week. One was a rather horrid feature in an American publication, in which the Holy Father's recent visit to a synagogue was mentioned, and the impression given that he was rudely treated, which he certainly was not. It was written by a "traditionalist" Catholic and was frankly offensive as well as inaccurate. The other, arriving today, was the March issue of Catholic World Report which not only has a lively and accurate report on the synagogue visit, which was a huge success, the Holy Father being several times interrupted by applause, but also a detailed and interesting analysis of current Catholic/Jewish relations. Papa Benedict has done more than anyone else to further the theological discussions at the heart of all of this, and has some profound and important insights which a number of leading members of the Jewish community have appreciated and valued. We can expect this to be taken a lot further.

It is horrible that the media - aided,alas by the ability of the Internet to communicate widely any inaccuracy that gets into the mainstream press and to magnify its message a thousandfold - is seeking to push a message of Catholic/Jewish tension.

But I am at a loss to understand why any Catholic would want to do do the same. Why would any Catholic seek anything other than good relationships between Catholics and Jews?

CATHOLIC WOMEN OF THE YEAR...

Nominations are invited for the 2010 Catholic Women of the Year. The idea is to honour the "unsung heroines" who take on responsibilities and carry out service to others in steadfast and perhaps unobtrusive ways. The nomination can simply be a letter from a friend, colleague, parish priest or even a family member setting out the facts in a brief way.

The idea is to honour women who in their homes and families, in public office or in their business or professional lives, are seeking to live and uphold the Church's teachings with love and dedication. Letters can be typed or handwritten, and should be sent to:Mrs Janette Woodford, 22 Milton Rd, WARE, Herts SG12 0PZ or emailed to:mijamajoje@ntlworld.com by APRIL 24th.

This is your chance to honour a lady from your parish who has given real practical service.

Horrible things...

...are emerging about sexual abuse in some Catholic institutions.

We really do need to stay sane and let facts speak. Some facts will be ghastly, and action will be needed. But many people are innocent and their association with schools or institutions will now haunt them in a most unjust way.

Mgr Georg Ratzinger, brother of the Pope, was choirmaster at Regensburg for some thirty years, beginning in the middle 1960s, after the events being recalled took place. But just to make his own position clear, he added that he had occasionally given boys a cuff round the ear, and now felt rather bad about it.

Oh, dear. I can remember being smacked a couple of times by the nuns at my school for misbehaviour, and I truly couldn't call it abuse, and cannot claim that I felt any dreadful suffering or horror at the time, or feel it now in retrospect. (If I am honest, what I actually disliked far more was the sort of punishment that one recieved when much older - such as having a detention, which had somehow to be explained away at home).

In the post...

...comes a copy of NEW DIRECTIONS, the magazine of "Forward in Faith". There is a LOT happening among the Anglicans as they look ahead, and a lot of real heartache as well as hope, as decisions are pondered.

This (March) edition of ND has the text of a talk given by Bishop Peter Elliott, auxiliary in Melbourne, giving a full explanation of the Ordinariate, what it's all about, and what it will mean...recent comments by Cardinal William Levada are also relevant...

RCs who think "Oh, this is nothing to do with us" are wrong. What happens to the Church of England affects us all, and shapes the culture in which we live and work...and more importantly, if even a tiny number of Anglicans opt to become part of an Anglican Ordinariate, this will have far-reaching significance and open up potential for many good things. Don't sneer, and don't revert into tribal enclaves...for many decades now, there have been prayers for Christian unity, and God hasn't been ignoring these. The present Pope, as Cardinal Ratzinger, was deeply involved in discussions and prayers and exchanges of ideas and publications and conferences with Christians in a number of denominations who shared a concern that the great truths of the Christian Faith were under attack, from within Christianity as well as from without. There has long been a recognition that this was re-shaping an ecumenical discussion that would move beyond the old boundaries. Keep praying.

This is a good read...

...on a topic which is important for Catholics in Britain as well as in America. An American Bishop looking at Christianity and its place in America today...the legacy of JFK, etc...

Recently...

...I gave a talk in which the topic of contraception and the Pill came up, and the result was an extremely loud and vociferous shouting match. In particular, several of the teenage girls present were on the Puill, having been told that they needed it "to regulate me" as one put it. I am not convinced they are being given accurate information. Here's an example of material that needs discussing.

I missed...

... the Spectator debate about England becoming a Catholic country, and have been hearing about it from all sorts of people who were there. It sounds a terrific evening. You can get a flavour by reading the speech by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor's speech here...

The Bishops...

of England and Wales have issued a statement that looks ahead to the forthcoming General Election. It's not particularly thrilling or inspiring, but makes some good points: after an introduction by Archp Vincent Nichols, and some preliminary general comments about the need for trust in society, and the importance of virtue, the first section on a specific topic is headed LIFE ITSELF and states:
"The principle of the common good requires that the essential
dignity of every human life is upheld because our life is not
our property to dispose of but a gift to treasure. When this
principle is abandoned, then a zero has been introduced
into the calculation of the common good. The abortion
of the unborn, and euthanasia even when voluntary, are
a fundamental denial of this principle, because both are
concerned with exclusion from the human community,
both are contrary to the common good."

There is also a good section on marriage - although it might have been wise to spell out that by "marriage" is meant the union of one man and one woman with the intention of becoming a family together.

I understand a more detailed document will be issued nearer to the Election.

Meanwhile, here is Auntie's take on the continuing discussion about sex education...

The National Secular Society...

...was today grandly announcing that it was handing in a petition at Downing Street urging the Prime Minister to ban the visit of the Holy Father.Pointless, silly, and nasty of them, and a far cry from the line they used to take, in the days when the proud claim of secularists was that they supported tolerance, let's-hear-all-points-of-view etc etc. Remember when they used that line about "I disagree entirely with what you say, but defend to the death your right to say it"? Not any more, evidently. They don't like what the Church teaches, and they don't like the chap teaching it, they don't think that he should recieve the normal courtesies when visiting Britain.

Specifically, they don't like the Christian understanding that homsexuality is wrong, they don't like the Church having a male priesthood. They have tried to claim that the H. Father has "rehabilitated" the Lefebvrist Dr Williamson (he hasn't - see the Pope's own letter here ) whose vile rants about the Holocaust are in direct denial of the facts of history and of the Pope's own statements on the subject.

In fact the Nat Sec. Soc. is struggling to find legitimate reasons for being tiresome about the Pope's visit: the last one was a success, and Catholics have an infuriating habit of enjoying large cheerful gatherings: attempts to stir up trouble in Oz over World Youth Day melted when hordes and hordes of pleasant young people arrived in Sydney, and with singing and friendliness and prayer and goodwill made the city a joyful place to everyone's enjoyment.

Now Nat. Secular Soc. members need to know this: the Church will never deny them the enjoyment of the universities, hospitals, schools, art, music, scientific and medical knowledge that she has fostered and built and formed and nourished down the centuries. Any time they want to establish some Secular Society set of homes for the poorest of the poor, or orphanages for war victims, or clinics in the most remote and grim of districts, or colleges, or schools, or care for people living on rubbish-dumps, or hospices for the dying, or medical care for the sick and blind and disabled, or opportunities for the impoverished young to be educated, or free food for the starving...Catholics will be only too glad. And if some international Secularist spokesman connected with all this were to visit Britain we wouldn't grudge the money spent on policing the crowds who wanted to cheer him or directing the traffic the traffic they created, or arranging for him to have a cup of tea with the Queen.

Speaking...

...to a delightful gathering of a Catholic book club - convivial, talkative, cheerful. Lots of excellent books to buy or borrow.

I remember, back in the 1980s, being part of a small working party looking at the future of the Church in Britain and being told that by the year 2000 the Church in this country would have disappeared completely. It hasn't. Daft to try to predict the future. Among the developments not foreseen were the New Movements, the explosion in Catholic publishing and the numbers of people who would be prepared to buy the resulting books, and the influence of initiatives that seemed remote and far-away, such as World Youth Day...and having an international Catholic TV network broadcasting in Britain would have seemed virtually incredible twenty years ago...

In a rush...

...a quick visit to the Isle of Wight, where among other things I had a meeting with the publisher of latest book A Nun with a Difference (lovely review in the current magazine of the Assn of Catholic Women)...the sun was sparkling on the Solent, and it was lovely to be in Cowes with its shops and cafes and boats...while on the train and ferry I got stuck into Maryvale work on the Synoptic Gospels. I find sandwiching academic study with journalism and other writing and domesticity rather exhiliarating...previous essay, duly marked and graded, came back today(no, I'm not telling you what grade I got) and already thoughts whizz ahead to this summer's exams...

Spent part of the weekend with young relatives...so good to relax and enjoy their company. Small great-nephew and great-niece utterly enchanting, splashing in puddles in wellies, running around the grounds of the castle in the local park, and singing along as we headed back for tea "Time to go home/ time to go home/ The clock in the High Street says 'Time to go home'..." (adapted from TV children's programme of my v. early youth - oldies will know the tune...)

Lord Carey...

...former Archbishop of Canterbury, is much quoted in the press today on the subject of Christians being bullied by politicians, and Christianity being marginalised in our country. He's quite right, of course. It would be useful if his comments could stir people to a greater sense of the possibilities of challenging the ghastly culture that is fostering this bashing of Christianity. But the worst thing about it is the sense of defeat and inevitability that seems to surround the subject...some Catholics speak of imminent persecution with a sense of misplaced relish and glee.

"Remember" a Czech friend told me years ago "persecution works in crushing the Church.Of course it is true that there are brave people - often unexpected ones - who hold out and are an inspiration. But for huge numbers of people, the Church disappears, and they are left ignorant, uninstructed, and confused. What you get is a general feeling of hopelessness and cynicism,lots of dishonesty, people finding ways to cope and get along in life, a loss of daily contact with the things of God. People start to believe the anti-religious propaganda that they are given, and the Christians they meet may just appear bigoted, out-of-date, narrow-minded and not able to give answers. Don't make the mistake of thinking that it's all romantic." He was certainly correct with regard to his own country, where despite the heroic witness and sterling qualities of Vaclav Havel,and his recognition of the great spiritual truths on which civilisation must be founded, the arrival of freedom has seen a continued decline in religious belief and a widespread sense of detrachment from historical Christianity. Young people brought up on trite slogans do not neccesarily opt for womething larger and more glorious when given the opportunity, nor is it easy to introduce it when material goals seem more important...

Pray for Britain.

Do get...

...the latest Catholic Herald. It has a feature interview with writer Brian Gail with a wonderful headline in which he speaks about "John Paul the Great". YES!!!!!

Booklet...

...published by the Catholic Truth Society on Lent and Easter: Catholic customs and traditions. It's £1.95p. Nice pic of hot cross buns on the cover. As author, I got 50 free copies, and so was able to give one to each member of the parish Confirmation class when I spoke to them the other day...but you can get your copy from the CTS,by clicking here.

BTW, the CTS is sponsoring a project for children at Catholic primary schools in Britain, for the Pope's visit,working with the Association of Catholic Women... Want to join in? Contact the CTS and ask for a brochure...

The Anglican Ordinariate...

...looks as though it is coming...read here...

Catholic women...

...meeting to plan various activities. Lots of talk, lots to do.

Day of Recollection for LENT, March 13th, includes Mass, Rosary, inspirational talks...all welcome.

Teachers, parish catechists, anyone involved with youth work - come to the Day of Art and Music in Religious Education, March 25th, at Chelsea. It's FREE and includes lunch, and a workshop on singing Gregorian chant. But you do need to book.

Info on both these events here.

MUCH discussion about the Govt's ghastly new law on compulsory sex education...and the role played by the Catholic Education Service.

The Catholic Education Service has lost the confidence of the Catholic community. Time for a complete rethink.

London drenching...

...in pouring rain, rather dramatic in its ferocity and remorselessness. A sturdy group with umbrellas and waterproofs of every sort, plus a portable microphone, set off from St Mary Moorfields on the latest in our series of Catholic History Walks. Stations of the Cross at Moorfields - a good-sized congregation at this beautiful and popular church - and then the walkers gathered for a short history walk ... centuries ago this really was a moor on the edge of London, a wild and rough district along the outer edge of the city's Wall, which gave acess to the city through Moorgate. Our walk - no one seemed defeated by the incessant rain - took us to several City churches and to the magnificent Guildhall and site of a Roman amphitheatre ( a couple of decades ago, when it was first excavated, I did a radio broadcast from there for a BBC history feature, standing at the entrance where once wild animals were let into the arena...). We finished on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral - the great clock dramatically chiming the hour as we looked out over London and prayed for our city, our country, our Sovreign, and our Church.

Next Walk: March 10th, 6.30pm, steps of Westminster Cathedral. It will include a look at Parliament. No need to book, just turn up as the 5.30pm Mass ends and join us on the Cathedral steps...We walk whatever the weather, stopping for talks at all interesting historical points along the way. These Walks are a form of pilgrimage, to pray for a revival of the Faith in Britain.So be prepared to appear slightly daft, standing in the rain saying prayers aloud in some prominent place in the middle of London.

For more...

...on the question of Catholic schools and the new Govt scheme for compulsory sex education, read here...Auntie's analysis for EWTN.

Watched...

The Jon Voight film Pope John Paul II late last night...I've seen it before, but then lent the DVD to a friend and have only just had the chance to view it again. Woke this morning still thinking about it. In an uncomfortable sense - which was not the case when the film first appeared in 2006 - the scenes of Church life in 1970s Communist-dominated Poland present tensions and difficulties which are faintly echoed now in modern Britain...we need strong Bishops like Poland had. Where is our Wyszynski? Where is our Woytila?

MUCH...

...discussion today, at a pro-life working group which tackles such matters, about latest developments on the Govt's sex education scheme.

The Catholic Education Service has completely messed up on this one, and heads will have to roll.Not much can be salvaged, and it's time for an admission of mistakes and a chance for a fresh start at the CES.

They were given an excellent opportunity - invited in right at the start of the Govt's discussions, given a place on the planning committee etc. They should have made the Catholic position clear, offered statistics and information showing - which is now readily acknowledged - that current fashionable forms of sex-ed, used for the past two decades, have resulted in steadily rising rates of teenage pregnancy, abortion, and STDs, discussed some radically alternative ideas complete with plenty of back-up material (lots available both here and in the USA, Australia),etc. If then they were outnumbered and the same old ghastly rubbish-ideas were adopted, they should have produced a minority report and resigned - killing two birds with one stone by producing some sound ideas for the future while possibly helping to squelch the Govt scheme. But no. They just sat and nodded the whole project through on the Govt's terms and are now revealed as essentially part of the Govt bureaucracy and unconnected with the reality of the Church and the Christian vision of life and love.

A clause for "faith schools" has been added to the legislation which seems to allow such schools to put some statement of beliefs on sexual ethics to the pupils, but that's all: it seems that Catholic schools will still be mandated to have abortion-providers and promoters of various sexual lifestyles pushing their message to pupils on school territory, with a head-teacher given no right to block them.

Verdict from Catholic laity and clergy: NO CONFIDENCE in the CES in its present form. Time for a complete overhaul. Over to you, dear Bishops - and with the words of the Holy Father ringing in your ears, please take courage and take the action needed.

on the subject of Europe and its future...

...this is a good read.

And meanwhile...

......the excellent Cardinal Vaughan School has been told to make last-minute changes to its admissions procedures, despite assurances from the relevant authorities that this would not be neccessary. Families are being put under huge pressure and hard-working pupils are being caused considerable distress.

The big question here of course concerns the Diocese of Westminster. Why, instead of supporting and encouraging this excellent school, did the diocesan authorities choose to join forces with those who were attacking and undermining it?

Surely the only sane attitude of Bishops and their officials, when seeing a massively popular and successful Catholic school, is to seek ways of ensuring that other schools follow its example and come up to scratch too?

At the moment, ordinary RCs in Britain could be forgiven for thinking that the general episcopal attitude towards anything useful and successful and creative in Catholic life is irritation and dismay rather than gratitude and support...

Today...

...Anglicans interested in the Anglican Ordinariate were spending time in prayer, to ask for wisdom as they seek the way ahead. Today is the feast of the Chair of St Peter.

There are all sorts of obvious pressures and obstacles and difficulties for this Anglican Ordinariate as it struggles to be born ...and all sorts of glorious, large, far-reaching and important things that could be accomplished, in the will of God, if the birth can be safely achieved. Before you do anything else, stop for a moment and add your prayers. Do it now.

Spent today...

...at a school as one of a team of speakers giving a presentation on chastity.

The problem when doing this is not that the young people reject the message, or even challenge it to any very great degree - rather, it is simply the human reality with which they have to live. They do not see marriage presented as an attractive - or even a realistic - option in the world in which they are growing up: not on the TV soaps, not in the lives of the soi-disant "celebs" whose activities are chronicled in the junk-magazines haunting all the supermarkets, and not, alas, in many of the homes and families of their own everyday experience. Sometimes school is the only place where it will even be presented for discussion in any significant way.

The Church has so much to offer here that is healing, inspiring, and life-changing. Unfortunately too often, the young have the idea that the Church simply presents a set of negative rules which are essentially for her own members, who then apply them rather smugly. Breaking through the barrier of ignorance and prejudice which surrounds the image of the Church is itself something that takes time and good humour and prayer and patience. But it can be done...

A weekend...

...visit to friends, a houseful of delightful children and young people,talkative meals with much laughter and fun,a glorious Saturday walk with the sun setting in a wintry sky, a great family hike across snowy fields to Mass on Sunday morning(impossible to get anywhere by car), more friends arriving for Sunday lunch, enchanting toddlers to be enjoyed and cuddled. All this plus various Catholic projects discussed and planned, news swapped, ideas and dreams and hopes and more...

Home late, snow disappearing as we headed south. A late-night enjoyable film on DVD, mugs of tea.

If you want to know...

...something of what makes Auntie tick, you could try looking here.

A cold, rainy...

Sunday, and it's weather I rather enjoy. Mass, with lots of music, including Credo III (Missa de Angelis) which is the easiest to sing, and among the hymns, The king of love my shepherd is which was one of my father's favourites. On Friday I gave a talk to a Confirmation group at our parish - there are almost 40 of them, and they are having a full Confirmation course led by our energetic young curate with a team which includes a couple of volunteers from the local seminary. Last year's batch was also some 40-strong. En route to the church centre where they were gathered, I dropped into the church where people were kneeling in prayer - Adoration of the Bl. Sacrament. Next time some one tells you all is hopeless in the Catholic Church, don't believe them - come to this parish and see things to lift your heart...

J. away this w/e so I took myself to lunch in a local cafe and over cottage-pie and salad and some good coffee, read an excellent biography Ettie, a life of Lady Desborough...mother of Julian and Billy Grenfelll...WWI, heartbreaking... was taken beyond the cafe and the talk and the rain-soaked pavements of a 2010 South London suburb and the traffic and noise to a vanished England...

Cycled off through the rain. Walk with mother. Tea. Home to various tasks, resisting the lure of the book until these are done...

TWO MORE....

....CATHOLIC HISTORY WALKS. No need to book. Just turn up. Wear comfortable shoes, and suitable clothes - we'll be walking whatever the weather.

ASH WEDNESDAY Feb 17th, 6.30pm (after the 5.30pm Mass) steps of Westminster Cathedral.

THURSDAY Feb 25th, 6.30pm outside the church of St Mary Moorfields, London EC2. Nearest tube(MOORGATE or LIVERPOOOL STREET).

This weekend...

...marks an important anniversary for a group of women I have come to like and admire very much. It is the 80th anniversary of the women's section of Opus Dei.

I'm not a member, and nor is any member of my family. But over the years I have seen the work of Opus Dei members , especially with young people. I have seen them organising young people from all sorts of backgrounds to come together to do all sorts of creative, interesting and enjoyable activities, enormously enriching their lives. I've seen volunteers from Opus Dei plunging with enthusiasm into projects getting young people to sing, write, act, create plays and books and magazines, and even run fashion shows...and all this at a time when many people have thought that the only thing you could get young people to do is hang about and do nothing in particular with the vague hope that they might at least refrain from taking drugs.

I have seen Opus Dei women who have not even realised the profound and good influence they have been on the lives of others - cheerful, prayerful, with a zest for life. I've worked with them and shared extremely enjoyable and sometimes hilarious times - and prayed with them and talked with them and found common sense and true faith. This weekend I'll be lighting a candle to give thanks for the work that has been achieved these 80 years, and praying that the work may flourish and prosper.

Today...

...a new survey shows that children in Britain are deeply unhappy. A third of young people say they do not feel happy with life - up two percentage points from last year. One in 20 secondary school pupils admits to being drunk "three or more times" in the past month.

And the Govt spokesman announced confidence in the measures to combat all this: information about healthy foods, "happiness" lessons in schools, and compulsory personal, social, health and ecooimic education.

You couldn't make it up, could you?

For years...

...I've supported Family and Youth Concern, and indeed have contributed to its publications. The latest Family Bulletin has just arrived and is an important read. This is an organisation worthy of your support. There are some ghastly things going on, and we see the results all around us in the destruction of childhood innocence and the increasing attacks on marriage...but it's infuriating when Christians make smug isn't-it-all-dreadful comments and fail to act, or support those who are taking action...so do help this excellent organisation if you can.

In the post...

...comes Fr Dwight Longenecker's latest book, The Gargoyle Code. An excellent read.

How are you marking Ash Wednesday?

If you are in London and planning to be at the 5.30pm sung Mass, why not come on the CATHOLIC HISTORY WALK which follows? We meet on the steps of the Cathedral at 6.30pm (or when Mass finishes). Wear warm clothes, comfortable shoes, and be prepared for a good walk. It will have a Lenten flavour - we'll be taking in some sites associated with martyrdom - and will begin and end with prayers.

Yesterday evening, we had a meeting of the History Walk Team to plan ahead for the spring and summer. A bitterly cold night, but we warmed up over a good meal and mapped out plans which will include a river trip, a visit to a seminary on the site of Thomas More's garden,a look at various City churches, and more...

The success of the Walks so far has been a great boost - large numbers, much enthusiasm. The Walks always include prayers for our country - badly needed at this time. A collapsing culture, daily abortion of infants in hospitals across the nation,drunken youth fighting and shrieking in the streets on Saturday nights as a matter of routine, plans for legalising "assisted suicide", schemes to block Catholic schools from teaching the fullness of Catholic doctrine and morals, a nationwide system of sex education centred on a contraceptive-culture...come and join us in prayer as Lent 2010 begins...

And further...

...to my post below, this contribution from Bishop Peter Elliott in Australia is useful....

I have just had...

...the most extraordinary experience!

I went along to a local church hall where I was due to give a talk. The group that had invited me to speak as a local author was unconnected with the church and simply hired the hall for meetings. I arrived too early and while waiting was delighted to discover a rather good church library - several shelves of books. One was Charpentier's "How to Read the New Testament" which is on our reading-list for Maryvale. I settled down to read it, and in due course was interrupted by the arrival of a group of people including the vicar. I scrambled to my feet and introduced myself...and it turned out that he had seen a review of English Catholic Heroines in New Directions magazine, and was a member of Forward in Faith (I had noticed that this was a FiF parish...) We ended up having a fascinating conversation including chat about the Pope's new invitation to Anglicans...

And he's let me borrow the Charpentier book, which I've promised to return safely, and just today I got my latest copy of New Directions, which has lots about Anglicanorum Coelibus in it...

The warmth...

...of welcome at Maryvale, hugs from the Bridgettine sisters, supper waiting, lots of cheery talk as students gather and news is swapped...I was so glad to be there that I found myself beaming at everyone and everything in what I am certain was an extremely tiresome way...

Excellent lectures from Fr Robert Letellier who was simply wonderful in opening up the New Testament in ways I had never thought about before and with an ease of style that made it all understandable and rather thrilling, and the Dominican Fr Richard Conrad . The latter is an old friend - famous in our family circle for his excellent cakes - but I had never heard him lecture before, and it was terrific. He has good throwaway lines ("East Anglia has lots of good things - Colman's Mustard, Julian of Norwich...")and a casual way of doing enjoyable things: the lecture was "De Deo Uno at Trino" and he began cheerily in Latin before smoothly switching to English...

On Saturday night I sat long and late in the library relishing the access to a wonderful range of books. No one else was there so I kicked off my shoes and nibbled chocolate while tackling much necessary reading for the next essays. Overslept on Sunday morning and was woken by the sound of the Sisters singing their office in the chapel. Our Mass followed and I was just in time. Hurrying up and down the main staircases at Maryvale is an odd sensation because they are slanted with venerability in a rather pleasing but mildly disconcerting way...

Memorabilia from Cardinal Newman in a display case in the hall, a hearty Sunday lunch, huge regrets at leaving when the weekend finished...as a group of us chattered in a taxi to the station we swept past a great Mosque, new and gleaming, occupying a massive presence alongside the busy main road. A reminder that this 21st century presents us with challenges and needs that Newman's era could not have imagined...

You simply MUST get...

...the new booklet Heroic Priests produced by Aid to the Church in Need. It tells the stories of heroic priests working in different parts of the world TODAY - real-life stories, with some incredibly powerful stuff that will make you wonder what you are doing with your own life...

CATHOLIC TRADITION...

... and all the things we do for Lent and Easter. Just out from the CTS: Lent and Easter - Catholic Customs and Traditions. If you cherish CATHOLIC TRADITION (I've put that in caps because I do!) then you'll enjoy this. Might be useful for schools, and for First Communion and Confirmation groups too. Why is Shrove Tuesday so named? How are the ashes used on Ash Wednesday obtained? What is the Chrism Mass? What is the Easter Vigil? Answers to these and many other questions, plus lots of other information, all in a pocket-sized booklet

We are being softened up...

...persistently, nastily, to accept the notion that very ill people should be "helped to die".

A recent tragic case involved a young woman struck down with a disease for which there seemed to be no known cure.Her life was indeed a tragic one - she lay in bed day after day and there seemed to be no hope.She said that she would like to die.At one point she wrote a thoughtful and touching essay. It made me think that she should be encouraged and helped to write more. Lying ill in bed is restrictive of so much - but it need not preclude writing, especially with the use of a computer, and especially where there is a real talent and gift of expression, as in this case. But we will never know what she might have produced. Her mother took her words about wishing for death seriously, and gave her a mix of drugs so that she died.

There has been an enormous amount of media coverage, all of which expresses sympathy for the mother - and indeed it is clear that she acted because she was torn by her daughter's dreadful suffering, and had lovingly nursed her for years with great devotion. But, but...what about the possibility that a cure, even a partial one, might have been obtained over the next years? What about the possibility that the young woman's gifts - for example, in writing - might have been developed and given her joy and peace of mind even in a life so terribly blighted? History offers examples of gravely disabled and bedridden people who exerted influence, gave inspiration, wrote, fostered ideas, achieved things even from a sickbed. It is not impossible.

If Britain legalises "assisted suicide" we face dark times. In the name of a misguided compassion, we will be allowing something terrible.

I mentioned...

...about a new Children's Choir to be organised from Westminster Cathedral. Open to any child who enjoys singing! I've now got full details, and you can read about them here. Do get in touch and help make this venture a great success!

Candlemas...

...at Westminster Cathedral, with a long column of choristers filling that great aisle, carrying lighted tapers and singing gloriously, followed by a concourse of people in candlelit glow...

I needed this: a hectic day with a radio interview about the Pope, plus a lot of hurrying about to deal with domestic and other paperwork...

At the weekend I am off to Maryvale. Bliss.

Meanwhile: it suddenly occurred to me today that it is 5 years since I did my London-Brighton cycle ride, raising funds to help local young people to get to World Youth Day. The new Pope had then just been elected and there was much discussion about whether WYD would "work" and gain enough interest and support. Well it did, of course and was a huge success, to be followed by the even greater event in Sydney in 2008 which an even huger success. And the next is in Madrid in 2011. Young people from our local parish are already making plans to go...

Which makes Auntie think of fund-raising...for WYD but, before that, for projects associated with the Pope's visit to Britain this Sept...

Read the full...

text of the H. Father's speech and pass it on...

And be ready...

...for some nasty attacks as lobbyists start to mobilise against the Pope's visit. A lot of Catholics, including perhaps some who enjoy the Internet, don't really know what it's like out in the vicious bearpit where real engagement with those who loathe Christianity takes place. Until you've actually recieved death-threats (yes, since you ask) and anonymous letters full of filth (ditto) and promises to harm your family (yes, that too) you can't actually quite imagine how unpleasant it can be. Defending the Church isn't a matter of expressing delight at birettas...

Please join me, Catholic and non-Catholic alike, in prayers, starting today, that Christians will continue to have the right, in Britain, to affirm the moral teachings of thei Christian faith, to promote them in Church schools and in Church organisations, to publish them and to pass them on to their children.Info here.

The Pope speaks out about Britain

...just look at this report!

He calls for "long standing British traditions of freedom of expression and honest exchange of opinion" to be respected under the law.

HEAR HEAR!!!

Throughout the first half of my adult life I heard about the plight of Christians in Eastern Europe who suffered from unjust laws which denied them freedom to express and share their faith openly. Now we face the same situation emerging in Britain, the country whose very name represented the word "freedom" in dark days in the 20th century...

Pray for our country. Pray that the visit of St Peter's successor this year will put fresh courage and hope into the hearts of all members of the Church here. Pray that our right to teach the Faith may be honoured and cherished, and the great tradition of freedom in our country be upheld.

And...

The Universe newspaper has an upbeat news feature about the excellent new educational resource for schools, Alive to the World. Why aren't our Catholic diocesan education structures making sure this excellent programme is getting into Catholic schools? It's just what is needed for today, giving a practical values-based scheme through which children can explore the topics that are central to Personal Social Health Education.

The latest...

...issue of FAITH magazine, always a very good read, arrived this weekend. It has an excellent editorial about the recent Intelligence Squared debate and about the Catholic Church.

London...

...on a cold, bright January day. Mass at Westminster Cathedral - I love hearing the roar of voices answering up to the responses, a great congregation filling that vast space, and of course the glorious music...

There is a new initiative for London children - a Westminster Diocesan Children's Choir. This was announced at Mass. A wonderful opportunity for children to share in the fabulous heritage of the Church's music - contact the Cathedral for more details: 020 7798 9055

And if you get the latest edition of OREMUS, the Cathedral magazine, (which is in any case a v. good read)you'll find a big feature about the Catholic History Walks...

To Windsor...

...for Evensong in St George's Chapel. The Royal Stuart Society gathers there each January to mark the anniversary of the death of King Charles I and to lay a wreath on his grave. The Castle looked dramatic against the darkening evening sky as we hurried up to the Chapel. As the wreath was laid, a prayer was said commemorating King Charles and his forgiveness of his enemies as he stood upon the scaffold. Enchanting singing from traditionally-robed christers as we sat in the choir-stalls of the Garter Knights. That glorious intricately-carved ceiling with perfect symetry and accuracy in every detail. Poignant thoughts about England's Royal heritage.

The Tower of London...

...on a bitterly cold January day, and a group of students from the St Patrick's Evangelisation School. We were on a Catholic History Walk, and took in Traitor's Gate and Tower Hill...the latter has a plaque marking the site where so many people were exceuted over the centuries - among them John Fisher and Thomas More, of course - and also the great Memorial Garden dedicated to the men of the Merchant Navy who lost their lives in both World Wars and have no grave but the sea. Panel after panel of names, hundreds and hundreds of them. There are scarlet poppies and small memorial crosses tucked into some of the panels, evidently placed there on November 11th and now damp and weathered by the winter's snow and rain.

I was impressed by the young team from St Patrick's, members of which came from China, Germany, and the USA as well as Britain. Their coursework is linked to Maryvale and a couple mentioned the possibility of going on to study at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Signs of hope flourishing in the Church for today and tomorrow.

Earlier, I had paced out the route, and dropped into St Margaret Patten's church, where I happened to meet the vicar. He was extremely kind, and arranged to meet us as we arrived, talked to us about the church's history and allowed the girls to try on a pair of 200-year-old pattens. We finished by praying the Lord's Prayer together and he suggested that we each say it in our own language - a moving and memorable experience in this fine old church.

We finished on the steps of St Paul's. I felt suddenly very middle-aged as I recalled watching the Royal Wedding procession almost 30 years ago in a very different Britain.

Today while...

...doing the ironing, I watched the second half of the powerful and moving film "Karol:A man who became Pope". I've watched this film before, and only put it on the DVD today because, well, it was a cold dark January day and I had a great stack of ironing to do and needed some inspiration. (And yes, you CAN watch a film while doing the ironing - in my case it involves positioning the ironing-board across an open doorway in in the one place where I can both see the DVD screen and plug in the iron. Multi-tasking).

The film sent me hurrying to get more reading-material on John Paul II: the Weigel biography is of course excellent and I am renewing my aquaintance with it this evening. There is also Garry O'Connor's "Universal Father", and any number of short biographies to say nothing of the late H.Father's own works. But I had forgotten that there were various books attacking him published in his last few years, all announcing that he was old, cantankerous, useless, etc and looking forward to his replacement with some one who would, oh, announce that the Christian teaching on sexual morality was about to be altered to fit in with the agenda of Planned Parenthood and the Lesbian Parenting Network and so on...how stupid that all looks now.

You can get the "Karol" film from St Anthony Communications and I do hugely recommend it, especially now that Pope John Paul is on the way to beatification...it would be excellent to show to a Catholic youth group (mid-teens and upwards - there's some grim wartime stuff unsuitable for younger children). Get a good-sized TV screen, and some big comfortable chairs and/or sofa cushions, and settle in for the evening. Bring tissues. And be prepared to emerge inspired and with a conviction that we are not meant to waste one moment of our lives but to do something large with them.

A survey shows..

...considerable support for the Conservative viewpoint as we approach the run-up to a General Election. You may be interested in Auntie's take on this...

The collapse of Communism...

...didn't happen in a vacuum. Last night, friends of George Miller-Kurakin gathered to honour his memory and to swap now-it-can-be-told stories of the Association for a Free Russia which he founded. George's funeral was held at a Russian Orthodox church - he was a devout Russian Orthodox Christian, with a deep and sincere faith which was the wellspring of his invariable courtesy, kindness, and good humour.

Among those gathering last night, in the solid comfort of the National Liberal Club - that glorious grand staircase, the fine portraits including that splendid one of Winston Churchill in hussar's uniform - were Members of Parliament, writers, campaigners. There were those who had been arrested in Moscow or elsewhere for human-rights efforts in the 1970s and early 80s - men now middle-aged, looking back on the efforts and adventures of their youth. Some one said "Well, I suppose each of us can say 'I helped to shorten the Cold War by fifteen seconds'..." We recalled afternoons addressing envelopes to Russian addresses to mail freedom literature, and then posting them from all sorts of places around Britain. There were tales of international youth gatherings with efforts made to neutralise pro-Soviet lobbying. Several people recalled trips to the old USSR or Eastern European with freedom literature strapped around their chests under their clothes with sellotape, and training sessions beforehand on how to loose the inevitage KGB follower by dropping quickly off a bus or tram and double-turning into side-streets...

It was good to reconnect with old friends, and to hear news of marriages and the arrival of children - now themselves approaching the ages that we were when we worked for the great causes of a different era. The days of the 1980s seemed a long, long time ago.

Jamie and I both contributed speeches and shared our own memories. As we left, the lamps in Whitehall glowed against the gloom. There are a lot of roadworks at present, partly because of new barriers being erected to protest Govt offices from terrorist activity. We walked back along the Embankment and past the Houses of Parliament - currently all covered in scaffolding for some cleaning/repairs. What new challenges will the second decade of this 21st century now present to all of us?

And if...

...you want to take part in a special Catholic History Walk, and are free on this coming Friday, Jan 29th, meet us at 3pm at Tower Hill Tube Station. This is an extra Walk, arranged with the St Patrick's Evangelisation School, but I am inviting others who are interested to come along too. Wear suitable clothing, and comfortable shoes. We will be walking whatever the weather.

To Manchester...

...to speak to a dinner organised by the Catenians. V. agreeable, friendly, rather grand. Dinner began with the official prayer for the Pope, and finished with Grace after Meals followed by the Loyal Toast to the Queen...I was responding to the toast of "Our ladies and our guests". It was all fun, and there was dancing afterwards, which I much enjoyed too. Apparently ballroom dancing has made a big comeback just recently, because of TV's Strictly Come Dancing. I enjoyed being twirled around the room and it took me back to the days of Army dances and balls in Berlin in the early 1980s when J. was a young subaltern and I was wearing my wedding dress trimmed up with a coloured sash...

The Catenians gave me a simply huge bouquet, which was v. kind, but posed something of a problem: how to take it all the way back to London? However, it gave me much pleasure as I took it back to my hotel room, and I enjoyed it the next day, when along with my luggage it accompanied me to Mass at the "Hidden Gem" church in Mulberry Street. I love this church, which I've previously only visited on busy weekdays, and it was a pleasure to be there for Sunday Mass, and we had "Soul of my Saviour" and "Hail, Redeemer, King Divine"...and afterwards I took the bouquet to the side-altar in that glorious sanctuary, and now it is there in all its glory, all properly with water and everything, and it should last for the whole week and quietly remind the Lord of all the things I prayed to him about...

January...

...might not seem an ideal month for an evening walk around London, but substantial numbers turned up for the Catholic History Walk at Westminster Cathedral on Wednesday. Undeterred by the dark and cold, they gathered on the steps and cheerfully followed me as we set off on a train that took us to Manning House (named after the great Cardinal) and past The Passage, and on to Vaughan House (yes, another great Cardinal) and past the Cathedral Choir School and the Cardinal pub...these Walks are proving hugely popular, and I am constantly impressed by the large numbers and the enthusiasm shown for this and other initiatives among London's Catholics.

On to a committee meeting of the Catholic Writers' Guild, at St Mary Moorfields. Much lively talk over dinner, tackling lots of fascinating subjects, liturgy, feminism, marriage,blogging,and more...

To Oxford...

...for the funeral of Mgr Graham Leonard at the Oxford Oratory. Impressive and moving. A beautiful Mass, and a long procession of clergy bearing candles as the coffin was carried out and a choir chanted "In paradisum deducant te angeli: tuo adventu suscipiant te martyres, et perducant te in civitate Jerusalem..."

A great gathering of people, including many of those who have been involved in the drama of events surrounding Anglicans and the Catholic Church over the past two decades...

Here is something good...

...the Holy Father speaking - powerfully and movingly - at Rome's Synagogue. He was interrupted several time by applause.

Did you read about this in the mainstream media? I thought not. Help spread the word. Pass on the link to others. Tell people about what the Pope said. Quote him, and encourage others to do so. Priests: use his words in talks and sermons, setting the record straight and making clear that this is what the Vicar of Christ is saying.

And please, in particular, give this to those who who, claiming to be devout Catholics, continue to make anti-semitic remarks and/or to offer excuses for Holocaust-deniers.

I found ...

...this an inspiring read for January, in a year when we face many difficulties and need reminders of hope...

But to compound the gloom...

...a newsletter arrivs with figures about Islam in Europe. Read it here. Our Christian Europe is dying, and what comes next will be different. Islam has arrived and is growing fast, while once-Christian nations shun marriage and seem to resent having children. A baby is seen to be some one who will take away from his or her parents' freedom and prosperity. Having a child might be worthwhile, but it might not - at best, it is just an option, to be considered in the same way as a car or an expensive holiday, purely on the grounds of how much pride and pleasure and satisfaction it might provide.

This is, as the great Pope John Paul so aptly described it, a culture of death.

A meeting...

...at St James church, Spanish Place, of the committee of the Association of Catholic Women. Our meetings are always friendly and warm and have a special sense of welcome - committee member Monica Flynn invariably produces delicious cakes or biscuits and at this meeting she excelled herself with an array of goodies she had been given as Christmas gifts and wanted to share. Despite this, and despite the pleasure of being together again after the Christmas break, the swapping of happy news(two members busy with daughters' weddings) and our plans for the coming months including the Day of Art and Music on March 25th , there was a solemn air. Every day seems to bring some new crunch for the freedom to live and work in a flourishing way as Christians in Britain: if the Government's attempts to crush the freedoms of Church schools were not enough, we now have the Liberal Democrat leader's statement that such schools must teach the acceptability of homosexual activity. When we discussed isues concerning care of the elderly - an area of work in which a number of our members are involved as volunteers - terrible information emerged about ill-treatment, starvation, denial of water and other basic care, in hospitals. There is issues of the gravest possible kind here: death by thirst is ghastly.We need changes to the Liverpool Care Pathway.

When the ACW was first founded, we were particularly concerned about extreme feminist lobbying within the Church, pressure for feminist language in prayers, calls from groups denouncing the Christian teaching on marriage and protection of the unborn and so on...but now the focus has shifted and we find much less of that kind of rubbish in the Church, and many newer problems. Meanwhile the Association has flourished, and is active in a number of useful projects (come to our Day of Recollection in Lent, for instance!). But the future looks full of new challenges...

Re the Pope and current controversies...

...I found this feature by a Vatican correspondent - a colleague with whom I had a lengthy and fascinating talk when I was last in Rome - of some interest.

To Parliament...

...for the presentation of awards to young winners of the Robin McNair prize, organised by the Society for the Protection of Unborn Childen. Robin McNair was a Battle of Britain pilot, a Squadron Leader,and a hero, and a longtime supporter of protection of the unborn. His family instituted the Award in his memory after he died in the 1990s. The young people write essays on topics that differ each year and tackle issues including abortion, embryo research, and euthanasia...the ceremony brought the young prizewinners to the House of Commons and a warm welcome from David Burrowes MP, and it was all very cheering and inspiring.

Despite the snow...

...which has made our scruffy road look delightful, and brought out all sorts of friendliness in streets and shops as people cope and struggle and help one another...and despite the fact that I have lots of good things ahead in 2010, and am blessed in my family and friends, it is difficult not to share the sense of quiet sadness that pervades things at present. The tragic collapse of social and community values over the past decade - following on inevitably from policies pursued by successive rulers and bureaucrats - now makes itself felt all the time in crime, family break-up, and the sordid drunken antics of the young in city and suburb every weekend.

As the Govt pushes forward its crunch on church schools - with, alas, the connivance of the Catholic education bureaucracy which instead of defending the schools is dotty about trying to make sure that they are not "elitist" - the plans for the horrible Equality Bill also roll relentlessly forward. There is a general recognition that, as at present formulated, it is designed to make things difficult for the Church by seeking to outlaw a male-only priesthood and the open teaching of Christian morals especially on homosexual activity. So now it's a question of whether or not the Church will be able to draw things out, talking to lawyers and so on, and find some way forward...with the Govt concentrating on ensuring speed so that the things becomes law before a May election.

At the weekend, J. spent some time sorting through papers. Among them, acquired a couple of summers ago on a trip to Runnymede, was a copy of Magna Carta, with its affirmation of the rights of the Church in our country.

And all the while, the bodies of our soldiers are brought back from Afghanistan, often accompanied by heart-breaking stories of courage and self-sacrifice...

Pray for Pope Benedict...

...as he continues the tradition, established by John Paul II, of visiting a Rome synagogue. Thanks to the ghastly anti-Jewish rants of the Lefebvrist's Dr Williamson - still, alas, not denounced by that community - there are tensions between Rome's Jewish community and the Catholic Church. As Cardinal Ratzinger, Pope Benedict did more than anyone else in the Church to help forge new friendships between Jews and Catholics, and it has been tragic to see how the Lefebvrist issue has now got in the way.

For me, one of the most frightening things that happened in 2009 was the realisation that anti-semitism has a hold on a certain (thank God, extremely small) group of Catholics - I was truly shocked and disgusted at some of the emails I recieved after writing about this subject. I suspect that most belonged to schismatic groups or were of a schismatic mentality. But the fact that they felt that they could pronounce horrible anti-Jewish comments under the guise of calling themselves "traditional Catholics" appalled and sickened me. I do not see how anyone who is a traditional and loyal Catholic can be anti-Jewish.

I am currently working on some research concerning an English nun who hid Jewish children in Rome during the war and saved their lives. In the early post-war years, the name of Pius XII was revered by many is Israel who knew of lives saved in this way.

Mgr Graham Leonard RIP...

...a man of God, who served the good cause faithfully, and was an inspiration to many. The Daily Telegraph has a fine obituary.

Mgr Leonard came to speak at a dinner held by the Catholic Cultural Group and it was a great priviledge to have him: it was one of our most memorable evenings. He also spoke at the Catholic Women of the Year Luncheon, and was inspirational. He was a patron of the Continuity Movement, and we all owe him a great deal.

He was a man who loved God, and loved England. Our country needs Christian leaders of his calibre. We we pray for his soul, let's also pray that God will send us more men like him...

One of the blogs...

...that Auntie regularly reads is Cranmer. He has some very relevant information about the Islamic extremists who recently appeared in court and were given special permission to arrive late so that they would not have to stand up for the judge. (They had announced their refusal to stand, on the grounds that the judge was not Allah).

FInd out more...

...about Auntie's latest book A Nun With A Difference, by looking at this website. This book is the first of its type that I have ever done - a biography of a remarkable woman, complete with her correspondence. I enjoyed doing a "Life and Letters", which is an old-fashioned form of biography enabling the reader to get deeply aquainted with the subject...who in this case happens to be a former headmistress of my old school. Do take a look at the website, especially if you are a Philomenian (if you aren't one, you won't know what one is!).

Why have the bishops...

...of England and Wales tried to steal part of our Christmas? They have nicked three days of it this year. MEAN. Horrid. They announced unilaterally a couple of years ago that the Epiphany would be "moved to the nearest Sunday", thus robbing us of a proper celebration of today's feast. We had an Epiphany Mass in our parish on Sunday, and as it is a splendid parish we had a glory of Epiphany liturgy, with suitable vestments, hymns and music, and all this week we've been having readings and sermons that have kept up the Epiphany message and mood. But why did the Bishops rob us of the actual feast - in the teeth of opposition from priests and people alike?

I know that, on a technicality, we can attend an Extraordinary Form Mass using an older calendar. But that misses the point. The Epiphany can and should be celebrated by everyone, across the nation, and it's all there in the universal Church calendar and we share it with the Church of England and everything. Please, please, dear Bishops, GIVE US BACK OUR HOLY DAYS!!!

Let's start 2010 on...

...an inspiring note, with some things that will give encouragement. Get your diaries out...

On March 25th there's a Day of Art and Music, aimed at RE teachers in Catholic primary schools, but also open to catechists, leaders of children's groups in parishes etc. It's at the Monckton Room at the beautiful and historic Holy Redeemer Church, Chelsea and is FREE for teachers. Includes lunch. Opportunity to view glorious art, and to learn Gregorian chant. The day finishes with Mass at which we'l be singing the chant we have learned...

Need a good wintry walk? Lamplight? History? Join us on January 20th on the steps of Westminster Cathedral at 6.30pm, following the 5.30pm sung Mass. A London Catholic History Walk, looking at the Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, the Thames...wear warm clothes, comfortable walking shoes, gloves, and bring a torch. No need to book, just turn up. And while you're about it, note Feb 17th, same venue, for another Walk, which will have a Royal theme and take in St James Park, Buckingham Palace, etc...and February 25th, this time meeting at St Mary Moorfields, 6.30pm, for a walk which will explore some of the City's history.

This Christmas...

... in Britain has an underlying seriousness not sensed in recent years. There's a sadness about. It's not just that cold weather has disrupted many poeople's travel plans, so that families are divided and people have been stranded at airports and in the Channel Tunnel. It's not just that there's a cyncism about, with one of the year's main news stories being about Members of Parliament grabbing so much money dishonestly through an inflated expenses scheme. It's not just the continuing rise in crime, and family break-up. It's more than all that. It's somehow connected with a nostalgia for the beautiful and the true. It's connected with all the current propaganda denying Christianity its rightful place in our history and traditions and culture and common life, and with a feeling that even joking about this makes one somehow vulnerable. There's a disconcerting am-I-allowed-to-say-this feel in the air when people mention the profound religious truth that is at the heart of Christmas...

Christmas carols...

...at Waterloo and Victoria stations, plus a group that went from house to house...

Carol singing is a major part of Auntie's Christmas, and if you were among commuters at Victoria or Waterloo this week and last, you might have glimpsed a figure in a bright red coat conducting the group of singers - led by a stalwart team from St Joseph's parish, Roehampton, led by Yvonne Windsor.

People love hearing the old carols, and with a willing group of people you can make the rafters ring. The accoustics at a railway station are superb! We had a violinist, and much goodwill, and soon some young people were adding descants, and we not only got huge sums of money, but lots of enthusiastic applause and comments. People didn't just hurry by and drop some money in - they stayed, and enjoyed themselves, and sometimes joined in. Two chaps joined in for fun, and stayed - "We were on our way to the pub., but this was so much fun we decided to stay!"

Through snowy countryside...

...to Goring in Sussex, for a well-attended gathering in the comfortable barn hall attached to the church with the most magnificent of ceilings...

I was there to give a talk about English saints, and was warmly welcomed with hot soup and hugs and good cheer. It was a very happy evening. Organisers were the wonderful Bevan family, whose DVDs are proving a great success...the whole evening was fun, including a good discussion session at the end of the talk, and over tea and (home-made) cakes...

On the way there, through Surrey and Sussex, the countryside was grey with scudding snow, and bright windows glowed through the gathering dusk, an agreeable scene as the train whooshed along...everything felt Christmassy and rather enchanting. Yet there is a deep feeling of sadness over things at the moment: this Christmas sees us, as a nation, so very broken somehow. And the discussions, mentioned above, included a recurring theme "Do you not feel that there may be open oppression of Christians here at some stage? It all feels as though things are moving that way...that it will become unacceptable to voice the orthodox traditional Christian message, especially on things connected to marriage and family life..."

Auntie draws the attention...

...of her readers to this campaign to which she is sympathetic.

Auntie is sickened by the continued injustices towards decent people who are guilty only of being faithful Christians who seek to live and work according to moral principles which have for centuries been at the core of our common life in Britain.

A baptism...

...at Brompton Oratory, followed by a lively gathering, lots of children, a table spread with sandwiches and snacks and cakes, plenty of good cheer. Officiating at the baptism was Fr Anthony Symondson SJ, who writes and speaks on architectural matters and is a friend of the family.

Whenever Catholic families get together, the subject of education comes up...parents are so keeen to get their children into the good Catholic schools, which as a result are beseiged by numbers. The Government has decided that the admissions procedures - which gave priority to practising Catholic families who could show that they sought a Church-based education for their children - were "elitist", and now, alas, our Catholic Education Service is effectively supporting this view. So now the priority will be given to families living near the schools - thus giving a huge advantage to rich families who can afford to buy housing near the good schools. There are some excellent Catholic boys' secondary schools in London, and parents start worrying about how to get their children into these schools while the children are still small...To get a child into a Catholic primary school, you have to show that the child was baptised within a few months of birth and that the family attends Mass regularly...and you will be competing against a good many others. If, for some reason, the child doesn't get into a Catholic primary school, it seems practically imposible to get into a Catholic secondary school.

To the House of Lords....

...for the annual presentation of prizes won by young people in the ecumenical Schools Bible Project. This is always a joy. The winners this year were exceptionally delightful young people, and it was all great fun - at least, I hope they found it so. We met in the Central Lobby and watched the Speaker's Procession, with the carrying of the Mace. Then a tour of Parliament, with a good look at the fine mosaics in the Central Lobby of our four patron saints, St George, St Andrew, St Patrick and St David, and the statues of our kings and queens, and then off to Westminster Great Hall with its associations with St Thomas More and King Charles I, and, in the lifetimes of many of us present , the lying-in-state of Sir Winston Churchill and HM Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother...then on (through pouring rain which lashed our umbrellas and made us a rather absurd and drenched procession!) to the room at 1, Abbey Gardens where we had cake and chat and the Presentation of the Prizes. These are cash awards to the schools, and Bibles and other book prizes to the young people. Baroness Cox always does us proud, and spoke most beautifully about the inspiration brought by the Christian Faith, and what it can mean. It was especially touching to hear her speak about young child soldiers in Africa, where she has recently been working on a relief project...

On a dark...

...overcast day, an invitation to spend the afternoon with young relations. On arrival, a cheerful three-year old hurried me into the sitting-room, where a niece, niece-in-law, and assorted small children were snuggled on the sofa with a duvet watching The Wind in the Willows. It was the work of a moment to kick off my shoes and join them. The afternoon went on to include the creation of an Advent wreath, the hiding and finding of golden chocolate coins (St Nicholas Day), and a lively talkative delicious supper...

Children's memories retain all sorts of things, and I often wonder about those one helps to create. I had brought with me an old family set of crib figures. but felt that after some forty years of use they could perhaps do with a wash, so a bowl of warm soapy water was produced and the children swathed in pinafores to engage with the task. I fear they were baffled. They enjoyed watching a couple of aunties plunge St Joseph, and the manger, and various kings into the bath, they watched as the Infant Christ was gently subjected to flannel and soap. They loved putting them all back in the tin and then taking them out, and putting them back....but what strange ritual did they think this was, and what will they tell their own children some decades from now? ("Ah, in the good old days, there was a tradition of washing the manger. I remember it well...."

Where will you be...

...on the evening of |December 16th? If you are in Sussex, why not come to English Martyrs Church, Goring, and hear about "Sussex saints and martyrs"? (Scroll down on that link under "Events" to find out more).

Golly...

...to my surprise I came across this rather good feature on the Guardian website...

We need something like this in Britain...

...and I'm talking about the Manhattan Declaration in which numbers of Christian leaders from different denominations have joined together to affirm principles on marriage and on the rights of Christians.

"Because we honour justice and the common good, we will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia, or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriages or the equivalent, or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family," it concludes.

There has, of course, been nothing about this in our British media.

More info here.

An extraordinary series of coincidences...

...resulted in my writing a book about a nun who was once headmistress of my old school. Interested? If you are a Philomenian, you will be. The book is "A Nun with a Difference", and tells the story a girl born into priviledge in Victorian England, who ended up founding a college in newly independent Pakistan. Contact Sun Hill Publishing, 11 Sun Hill, Cowes, Isle of Wight PO31 7HY. The book costs £10.99p (make cheque out to H. Lowe) - add £1.50p for postage and packing. Or you can buy it from the CTS bookshoop in Westminster Cathedral piazza...