A new baby...

...in our family. Rushed to young relatives Edmund and Fiorella to share in the joy at the arrival of


NICHOLAS XAVIER NASH, born 24th April 2010

a brother for Hugh and Francesca.

A darling baby,warm against my heart as I cuddled him. The dear faces of a joyful young couple as they start this next exciting chapter of their family story. A house teeming with busyness and love, a fish-and-chip supper, cheerful grandparents arriving with hugs and with food and practical gifts and immediate quiet competence, great flurries of activity and much whooping and laughter combined with swapping of news and sudden tiredness and gratitude for togetherness. Joy, joy...

David Quinn...

...an Irish journalist who recently came to speak to us at The Keys, has an excellent analysis of Papa Benedict's first 5 years here.

A Meeting...

...of the committee of the Association of Catholic Women. Much discussion of current issues...state of the Church in Ireland (problems of too close connection between Irish Church and State throughout much of 20th century, clericalism, etc), current attacks on the Pope, ghastly new appointment at the Catholic Education Service...this last is absolutely weird, and prompts questions of a most serious kind.

What possible reason can there be to appoint, to an official Catholic position, some one as a public official has consistently opposed Catholic teaching on every possible occasion? This new Deputy Director of the CES is a former Member of Parliament with a consistent record of supporting the work of the pro-abortion International Planned Parenthood, Family Planning Association and Marie Stopes International. He is now going to earn some £60,000 a year as an official of the body in charge of Catholic schools in England and Wales.

The Catholic Education Service proved its ineptitude in a quite dramatic way recently by failing to stand up for the rights of Catholics in the Govt's horrible plans for compulsory sex education. Thanks to the courageous campaigning of other groups, and despite the efforts of the CES to shore things up, the Government's legislation was eventually abandonerd, leaving the Catholic Education Service looking extremely stupid. Cue for a major re-think: opportunity to disband the CES and reorganise. But no - instead, a supporter of this discredited Government and an enthusiastic campaigner for National Condom Week is appointed as CES Deputy Director.

You couldn't make it up...

THE GENERAL ELECTION...

...sometimes feels like a debate about rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic.

To get a sense of some of the real issues facing our country - and some questions to ask your local candidates - go to the Catholic Union website and use their excellent election booklet RESTORING FAITH IN POLITICS. This is also being distributed in booklet form with all the main Catholic newspapers, and is being sent to Catholic groups and organisations etc.

Christians of all denominations will find the material useful.

An ecumenical note...

...which may be of interest: as chairman of a Christian charity, Christian Projects, which runs a big nationwide Schools Bible Project, I recieved an encouraging letter today. Lord Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, has kindly agreed to be a Patron of Christian Projects, and we are really delighted that he is giving us this support. Some years ago, when the Schools Bible Project was really in its infancy, he gladly consented to present the prizes, and invited us all to Lambeth Palace. It was a wonderful day which the young prizewinners hugely enjoyed - we were made warmly welcome, were shown around this fascinating building, learned something of its history, and had a lovely celebration.

Yesterday...

...thanks to kindness shown through a chance encounter at Westminster Cathedral, I had a lovely day with a cousin I had not seen for years. It was a day of swapping memories and talking over many things.

Hanging in the hall was a picture that swept me back to my childhood - the angel, drawn by our great-grandfather, in the style of Burne-Jones under whom he studied. I suddenly realised how childhood images stay with you, shape your ideas, form the background to your life.

And you simply must read...

...the excellent Round Table honouring Papa Benedict's anniversary produced by Ignatius Press.

Worth reading...

...the Holy Father's address to young people in Malta.

Under a silent sky...

...off to London for a meeting with Josephine Robinson of the Association of Catholic Women. Entries have been arriving for the Association's 2010 Schools' RE Project, in which children were invited to write about the Pope, explaining about St Peter being the first Pope and so on...a team of judges will be reading all the entries and, as in previous years, awarding book prizes generously donated by the CTS...

On to St Chad's in South Norwood, where a cheery group had gathered in the parish hall to hear Auntie speak about "Celebrating feasts and seasons". A well-attended gathering, organised initially for new converts who had been recieved into the Church at Easter, but open to everyone in the parish and we got a good mixture of people.

Home late, tackled emails, trawled through news on the Net. Continued attacks on the Pope...and I find the Comments on some Catholic blogs rather horrid, especially those sneering at ordinary parish life and at the Maltese enthusiasm for Papa B.

Over the past couple of years I've travelled more to different parishes and Catholic groups than ever before, and I realise that there is a living and thriving Faith that doesn't seem to get reflected in the blogosphere. It will be the loving prayers of ordinary Catholics rising to Heaven that support the Pope on this anniversary day of his succession.

You won't...

... hear about this in the British media, of course, but look here and here for what really happened when Papa B. visited Malta.

Children in their hundreds singing to him, vast enthusiastic crowds packing out the streets and squares, the harbour filled with boats and cheering people...and a huge rapport between him and all these people as he spoke of their values, their commitment to marriage and family and human life...

And this good and decent man wept when he met victims of abuse, and prayed with them and they have spoken of what this has meant to them...

The Jesuit...

...church in Wimbledon is having its floor relaid (over 100 years of use) so Masses have been transferred to the church hall, which has been transformed into a temporary church. They took a photograph of the (gothic arched) sanctuary, enlarged it to giant size and placed it to create a sanctuary in the hall, ditto with some pictures of the side-aisles, and all this, combined with clever use of curtains, has created a sort of church-atmosphere in which to house the altar and Tabernacle. The result is quite successful, and although the rows of chairs in the main part of the hall give a slight feel of a USA-style mega-church, there was a full sung Latin Mass complete with the "Domine, salvam fac.." for the Queen. Afterwards, at a food-sale in the lower hall, I bought a chocolate cake which I'm taking along to a friend this evening. She ought to be flying home to America but is marooned here in London because of the Icelandic ash, so we'll have cake and a DVD ("Lewis", successor to "Morse", recommended).

Jamie took Mother and me out to tea at Wimbledon and this was much appreciated. Blossom on the trees, bright sunshine, children running about, and Mother was delighted by the gardens at Cannizaro House.

There are good voices now telling the truth and defending the Holy Father against these vile attacks. Try here for instance. And the news reports about the trip to Malta are of interest. But there's something weird with The Times website: attempts to send in Comments seem to meet with resistance. What's going on?

And here...

...is an important analysis of that 1985 Cardinal Ratzinger letter too.

The election debate...

...was on the TV last night and I went to a friend's house to view it. Underwhelming. I thought Cameron sounded convincing on the subjects of crime and education. Nick Clegg sounded like a commentator rather than a potential leader. Gordon Brown looked a bit tired but was amusing on the subject of the election posters.

A meeting...

...in Chelsea on a spring evening, with judges of the Tamezin Young Journalists' Award. The Tamezin venture goes from strength to strength. It's a magazine produced by and for young people, it is attractive and glossy and fun to read and a subscription would be an excellent gift for any teenage girl you know...the annual presentation of the Young Journalists' Awards takes place soon and is always a wonderful day, with young people arriving from across Britain and a great air of excitement...winners get various prozes including opportunities for work experience at TV and radio stations and on newspapers and magazines. To find out more, click on that link...

Jack Valero...

...had a piece in yesterday's Guardian which is worth reading. Read it and also the 1985 letter from Cardinal Ratzinger which was taken out of context and used to make a fabricated story.

A gathering...

...of friends at the chapel of the John Fisher School, Purley, for the funeral of Aine Cooper, a dear and much-loved lady, wife of Daniel Cooper, a teacher at the school for many years. Aine was a friend to so many, a nurse whose medical skills and wisdom were of exceptional note and who shared them with loving generosity. Fr Roger Nesbitt was the principal celebrant, along with a good many other priests.Mgr Patrick Burke had flown from Rome and was the preacher, and spoke about the Eucharist,the real presence of Christ our Saviour...

A quick round-up of Auntie's activities...

...in recent days (been too busy to blog until now)...

A good crowd of Catholic Walkers met on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral on Monday evening. Began with prayers for the Holy Father's visit. Distributed copies of the important article by Phil Lawler (download it, print it off, and do the same). It being 6pm, at the suggestion of an Anglican clergyman who was of the group, we sang the Regina Caeli. Then off on a ramble through the City, taking in various churches, the Guildhall, and, finally, the plaque marking the birthplace of John Henry Newman, where we had a final talk and prayer. (The plaque is near the Stock Exchange. Newman was baptised at St Benet's church which stood nearby but which was demolished to make way for neccessary road widening in the mid 19th century - some of the artefacts went to a new St Benet's in what was then the expanding suburb of Tottenham).

Next day, off to Wales, where my travels took me to Pantasaph: there is a magnificent Franciscan shrine there, which I noted as I passed...I had never heard of it before, and learned that it dates back to the 19th century and is on land donated by the Earl of Denbigh.

I was staying at a local b-and-b, so after supper I went to explore the shrine. It has a fine outdoor garden-chapel, with a great statue of Padre Pio, to whom I confided various intercessions. A gate led through to some woods, so I opened it up...and there was a steep hill path, following by curls and zigzags the Stations of the Cross up to a great Calvary...as I followed the Way, I was alone in the woods in the dusk, with startled rabbits scampering away at my footfall, and birds suddenly rustling in the trees...at the great Calvary, Christ extends his arms from the hill, and takes in all sorrow, all worries...

Just off to...

...St Paul's Cathedral, where we are meeting on the steps for a Catholic History Walk. 6pm. See you there?

Well, if you are reading this from across the Atlantic, or in Australia, or somewhere, I'll write later and tell you all about it!

watch this on YOUTUBE...

...view here a BBC interview.

This one is easy...

...and enjoyable. Sign here a letter of affection and support for Papa Benedict. Get your friends and family to sign. Get people in your parish to sign. Get your priest to sign. Pass it on to people in a quick email, urging people to sign and pass on. Do it now!

That letter from Cardinal Ratzinger...

...has been headlined everywhere. Now get the facts.

Phil Lawler is an American journalist. This is from his column. Because what he says is so important, I'm simply reprinting it here. Read on:




"We're off and running once again, with another completely phony story that purports to implicate Pope Benedict XVI in the protection of abusive priests.

The "exclusive" story released by AP yesterday, which has been dutifully passed along now by scores of major media outlets, would never have seen the light of day if normal journalistic standards had been in place. Careful editors should have asked a series of probing questions, and in every case the answer to those questions would have shown that the story had no "legs."

First to repeat the bare-bones version of the story: in November 1985, then-Cardinal Ratzinger signed a letter deferring a decision on the laicization of Father Stephen Kiesle, a California priest who had been accused of molesting boys.
Now the key questions:


• Was Cardinal Ratzinger responding to the complaints of priestly pedophilia? No. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which the future Pontiff headed, did not have jurisdiction for pedophile priests until 2001. The cardinal was weighing a request for laicization of Kiesle.

• Had Oakland's Bishop John Cummins sought to laicize Kiesle as punishment for his misconduct? No. Kiesle himself asked to be released from the priesthood. The bishop supported the wayward priest's application.

• Was the request for laicization denied? No. Eventually, in 1987, the Vatican approved Kiesle's dismissal from the priesthood.

• Did Kiesle abuse children again before he was laicized? To the best of our knowledge, No. The next complaints against him arose in 2002: 15 years after he was dismissed from the priesthood.

• Did Cardinal Ratzinger's reluctance to make a quick decision mean that Kiesle remained in active ministry? No. Bishop Cummins had the authority to suspend the predator-priest, and in fact he had placed him on an extended leave of absence long before the application for laicization was entered.

• Would quicker laicization have protected children in California? No. Cardinal Ratzinger did not have the power to put Kiesle behind bars. If Kiesle had been defrocked in 1985 instead of 1987, he would have remained at large, thanks to a light sentence from the California courts. As things stood, he remained at large. He was not engaged in parish ministry and had no special access to children.

• Did the Vatican cover up evidence of Kiesle's predatory behavior? No. The civil courts of California destroyed that evidence after the priest completed a sentence of probation-- before the case ever reached Rome.

So to review: This was not a case in which a bishop wanted to discipline his priest and the Vatican official demurred. This was not a case in which a priest remained active in ministry, and the Vatican did nothing to protect the children under his pastoral care. This was not a case in which the Vatican covered up evidence of a priest's misconduct. This was a case in which a priest asked to be released from his vows, and the Vatican-- which had been flooded by such requests throughout the 1970s -- wanted to consider all such cases carefully. In short, if you're looking for evidence of a sex-abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, this case is irrelevant.

We Americans know what a sex-abuse crisis looks like. The scandal erupts when evidence emerges that bishops have protected abusive priests, kept them active in parish assignments, covered up evidence of the charges against them, and lied to their people. There is no such evidence in this or any other case involving Pope Benedict XVI.

Competent reporters, when dealing with a story that involves special expertise, seek information from experts in that field. Capable journalists following this story should have sought out canon lawyers to explain the 1985 document-- not merely relied on the highly biased testimony of civil lawyers who have lodged multiple suits against the Church. If they had understood the case, objective reporters would have recognized that they had no story. But in this case, reporters for the major media outlets are far from objective.

The New York Times-- which touched off this feeding frenzy with two error-riddled front-page reports-- seized on the latest "scoop" by AP to say that the 1985 document exemplified:

…the sort of delay that is fueling a renewed sexual abuse scandal in the church that has focused on whether the future pope moved quickly enough to remove known pedophiles from the priesthood, despite pleas from American bishops.

Here we have a complete rewriting of history. Earlier in this decade, American newspapers exposed the sad truth that many American bishops had kept pedophile priests in active ministry. Now the Times, which played an active role in exposing that scandal, would have us believe that the American bishops were striving to rid the priesthood of the predators, and the Vatican resisted!

No, what is "fueling a renewed sexual abuse scandal" is a media frenzy. There is a scandal here, indeed, but it's not the scandal you're reading about in the mass media. The scandal is the complete collapse of journalistic standards in the handling of this story."

More attacks on Pope Benedict ...

...and the ability of the authorities in Rome to respond seems limited. I think there's a hope that it will all go away. It won't. It is necessary to take action, and to be seen to be open and responsive to what is going on.

Nor is it wise for those on the wider scene who are trying to support Pope Benedict to attempt the ploy of deflecting the attack to Pope John Paul: the ghastly scandals within the Legionaries of Christ make this an attractive idea especially to people who disliked JPII's style, his rallies, World Youth Day, appeal to the young, etc. There is a feeling among some that now is a good time to play off old scores - they recall wincing at crowd scenes where Pope John Paul beat time to music along with teenagers, and they now sense a gleeful opportunity to tarnish his memory by emphasising that he liked and trusted the Legionaries, whose founder turns out to be an evil-doer and a fraud.

This is no time for such politics: the issue is not JPII's liturgical style, or the pleasure of trying to denounce his legacy. (It's also futile: this was a great man who inspired the Church and brought the message of Christ alive for millions).

The issue that is at the heart of all this media frenzy is still that of the evil acts of priests who abused children, and the need for the Church to be seen to be open and heartfelt in ensuring that such deeds will not be covered up. Pope Benedict will have us all with him if he announces a Church-wide act of sorrow and repentance...

It's essential to be well informed, and to get the full information as far as possible.

But make no mistake: among those who are currently pushing the attack on Papa B. are those, both inside and outside the Church, who now genuinely believe they can crush the Church's moral authority and render the voice of the succcessor of St Peter useless for decades to come. There's a shrill glee about this, and there's an evil in it which can only be stopped by prayer...

A round...

...of family visits over Easter. Church bells pealing in Oxfordshire as a wide smooth river flows between grassy banks where bright daffodils and pale primroses welcome the walkers enjoying the Easter break. Wobbly-legged lambs in Somerset meadows. Chocolate eggs and simnel cake and much family talk around a beautifully-laid table, four generations together.

I watched the Holy Father on TV on Easter morning. It was raining in Rome and he had been given a small, rather ugly chasuble and a little messy lacey collar round the stole - somehow it all looked bleak. People cheered and the crowds seemed undiminished by recent events, waving from beneath umbrellas. But they were not helped by the intervention of a formal Cardinalate speech before the start of the Easter Mass, offering the H. Father support in the face of recent "gossip". This really will not do: people are shocked and sickened by revelations of clergy abuse, and the Holy Father is at one with them in this, and has been the leader in seeking to rid the Church of what he has aptly named as "filth" - it is just all wrong for a formal Church spokesman to appear to be brushing the whole subject aside as "gossip". The Church must be seen to be open, truthful, humble and capable. Plenty to pray about this Eastertide...

Late on Good Friday...

...having spent a solemn day, I'm signing off for a family time starting from tomorrow. I'll be back, of course. Easter message can be read here.

Just seen...

...the crass remarks made by the preacher at St Peter's on Good Friday,quoting from a letter likening the current campaign against the Pope to anti-semitism. This is ridiculous and gross and will make an already bad situation infinitely worse. It hurts and offends Jewish people, who have actual memories of the murder of family and friends. Frankly, I think the preacher needs to be sacked.

What is happening to the Church is horrendous and wrong, but to link it with people who were actually slaughtered in concentration camps is just ridiculous, and it takes this whole ghastly mess deeper into a mire...

The next move...

...watch for it...will be to attack Pope John Paul. It's already started, and the new lie will be to re-invent him as the big figure who covered up sexual abuse, creating a myth like that of Pius XII and World War II. These things are hard to dislodge once started. The difference with JPII is that he has people within the Church - claiming to be traditionalists - who simply loathe him and will try to help foist this new image on him for all sorts of reasons, while pretending to be helping Papa Benedict.

Don't be fooled.

Youth leads the fightback...

...watch here to view university students thanking the Pope for his five years service......and bishops are speaking up...

And here is a hymn...

...to sing for the Holy Father.

This was written in 2005 to mark his election - we took our inspiration from the Wiseman hymn "Full in the panting heart of Rome" and then produced a new version, to which musician Jeremy de Satge produced a new and very singable tune. We have now tweaked it to produce a final polished version, which we offer as we prepare for the Holy Father's visit.

Enjoy! And use it in your parish, school, youth group...

The ghastly Hitchens...

won't read this, but you should.

You need to keep up to date...

...on the topic which has dominated this Blog in recent days. Read here for an excellent commentary/ analysis...

The big CHRISM MASS picture...

...above, comes from the website of the Diocese of Westminster.

You can read here the statement of Archbishop Vincent Nichols at the end of Mass.

Support for the Pope...

...is now surging worldwide. The American Bishops Conference statement is worth readimg.

AT THE CHRISM MASS...

...at Westminster Cathedral, we had a big placard saying THANK YOU TO OUR PRIESTS and gave them thank-you cards with a pic. of St John Vianney. The cathedral was packed, and at the end of the Mass, Archbishop Vincent Nichols made a special and strong statement about the current storm surrounding the Church, explaining the truth - including the fact that that there is no special "secrecy directive" - and indicating his firm support for the Holy Father. The whole of the cathedral was with him.

There were TV cameras outside the Cathedral as the great columns of priests walked up from Ambrosden Avenue, and were greeted with applause (and chants of "We love our priests!" from the young people in our group!)...but you won't see us on TV as the cameras instead focussed on three people who wanted to talk about sex-abuse. There was no opportunity for another side to be put, or for information to be corrected.

You have GOT to watch...

....THIS!!!!

Good grief...

...the New York Times (no I'm not going to give the link, it's all too nauseating) has now arranged for its dishonesty and invective to be used as formal educational material in schools because "teachers and parents want to help their students and children understand the current sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church": it offers a schema for lesson-plans so that children can be duly instructed in its propaganda.

Your chance...

...to show support for priests and for the Church at this difficult time comes on Tuesday (March 30th) at 11.45 am when the priests of the Westminster diocese arrive at the Cathedral for the Chrism Mass. As in previous years, a group of us - organised by the Association of Catholic Women - will be there to say a big thank-you to our priests for the service they give. As always, we'll have a placard and be handing out thank-you cards. Join us!

Bishops - where are you?

There are Bishops speaking out for the truth in this dreadful time of lies and hatred aimed at the Holy Father and the Church. This list is not exhaustive, but these are some men to note:

Honour to:
Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster - see previous recent blog entries
Archbishop Timothy Dolan, New York
Cardinal Marc Quellet, Primate of Canada
Cardinal George Pell of Sydney, Australia
Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn of Vienna
Catholic Bishops Conference of France

Among lay people, honour to Jack Valero of Opus Dei and, to a lesser degree, Christina Odone along with a number of Americans, including George Weigel, John Allen and Bill Donohue.

Among clergy - honour to Fr Dwight Longenecker - read the piece on his Blog.

Palm Sunday...

...and we met outside the church and processed in, remembering Christ's entry into Jerusalem.

Vile attacks on the Church and the H. Father in the press today, rather resembling those produced the Goebbels' propaganda teams.

But there's a story the press haven't picked up. Who was the Bishop who routinely dismissed child-abuse claims, admitted shredding files on priests accused of abuse, and who was then revealed as having paid out $450,000 from church funds to his own former homosexual lover?

Step forward Archbishop Rembert Weakland, currently posing as the "good guy" who wrote to Rome to reveal a child abuse case. The real facts? He dismissed sexual abuse time and again,then in the 1990s eventually contacted Rome twenty years after a serious abuser had been active in his diocese, and has given no reason for his failure to act before then. The priest in question was by then dying, so nothing useful could be done and the chap died a few months after his case had been discussed in Rome.

You can get a lot more about this here and do further research by checking Weakland's Wikipedia entry.

Walking...

...from the Old Bailey to Tyburn, along the route we will take for the Martyrs Walk in June. (It's June 20th, mark the date in your diaries now).

All the time, the current storm surrounding the Church was in the forefront of all our minds, especially as we stopped to pray at the various churches along the way.

Where are the Church's defenders? Honour to George Weigel,who spoke up with clarity before anyone else, a lone voice and a brave one. Now a few others have joined in - including this correspondent. The French bishops and some others have spoken up, including Archbishop Vincent Nichols. IN the USA the Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights has been working hard.

We need a group in Ireland which will rally to the Pope's letter and start taking action along the lines he urged - starting with prayer.There's a lot of talk about the impossibility of healing and so on - but healing has to start somewhere.

We need a lot less gloating - we don't need the voices saying "Oh, it's all due to the Church being harsh and repressoive in the old days" or "Oh, it's all the liberals in the Church since Vatican II". We need realism about the joy all this is giving to those who hate the Church and the Christian message. We need to work - now - to ensure that those who are seeking to use all this to crush the Papal visit to Britain are denied their goal.

And more...

...yes, yes, I know you'd like Auntie to write lots of cheery stuff about how she is whizzing about on her bicycle in the London springtime. But it isn't like that just at the moment in the life of this Catholic journalist. There's a war on, fought in no small measure through the Internet and the rest of the media, the former being a new and powerful weapon in the hands of those who loathe the Church. And most people aren't well-informed. Are you? Have you read this from New York? And this which goes into some detail?

And I'm assuming that most serious readers will have read this and been pleased that Archbishop Vincent has spoken out (BTW don't buy the wretched Times: look at it on-line).

Of course there are other things to tackle, work to be done. I spent today partly at Premier Radio, talking about Alive to the World and recording some talks (about Mary, among other topics) which will be broadcast in May. And of course I also took part in the main news programme which discussed....

Get yourself better informed by reading...

...this blog which has some useful material on Crimen sollicitationis, the Church document which deals with the evil of sexual solicitation in the confessional. Did you know that this document actually obliges a person to tell about any such solicitation? And that the promise of secrecy is given for just this purpose?

Look: it's like this. If I go to confession and confess adultery, and the priest is evil and makes a disgusting suggestion along the lines of "Well, if you've done that..how about you and me..?" it is my absolute duty to report this to some one in authority in the Church, and ensure that action is taken. But I might have an obvious reason for not doing this - because it might be that in explaining what happened, I have to explain that it began with my own confession of adultery. In order to protect my privacy, and to encourage me to come forward with the information about the priest, the Church insists that I am given a promise of secrecy. This does not extend to everything that subsequently occurs as the whole thing goes on, but it does remain absolute with regard to my part in the proceedings.

I have deliberately chosen adultery because it is one of the less disgusting sins which might be involved in this sort of matter.

The document is not, as it happens, very relevant to many of the issues being raised in the current storm. That of course it why opponents of the Church and her disciplines want to fudge things by pretending that it is, and simply randomly talking about "secrecy" and "Vatican documents" and "issued by Cardinal Ratzinger" and so on.

An early start...

...after a late arrival home last night. While busy with a project at Chelsea (helping to produce the cards that will be given to priests as part of our annual thank-you gesture at the Chrism Mass), media 'phone calls and much discussion as the storm rages.

Important to get the facts straight and to be alert for the next wave of attacks. My guess is that these will seek to besmirch Pope John Paul.

Who is it within the Church - in the USA? in Rome? - who is helping to feed all this? With what motive(s)?

Hurrying along...

...the Kings Road in Chelsea after a busy day (see below) and en route to another meeting, I answered my mobile phone. A voice asked "How are you?" and I answered rather curtly asking who it was. He said he was from the BBC, and would I like to do an interview that evening about the story in the New York Times? Assuming that this was all part of the escalation of the media storm I explained that I was on my way to give a talk and couldn't manage a BBC interview. Made a mental note that things were were racheted up still further, perused Internet when I got the first chance and scanned all the latest shrieking.

This is getting bizarre: it is no longer serious discussion of crimes by priests but a weird attempt to crush the Pope and the Church. It won't work, but what's the game here? Why are they so frightened of the Catholic Church?

A splendid...

...Day of Art and Music for teachers and catechists, held at the Monckton Room, at the church of Our Most Holy Redeemer and St Thomas More in Chelsea. Superb presentation of glorious art by Lionel Gracey who works with the "Art Beauty and Inspiration" courses at Maryvale. Then a teaching session of plainchant with Jeremy de Satge of The Music Makers. Finally we went upstairs into the church for a beautiful Annunciation Mass, celebrated by Fr Sunny Paul from Woldingham School, with wonderful singing of the newly-learned chant. We sang a Kyrie, Sanctus and Agnus Dei, did a beautiful Ave Maria for the Offertory, and as Mass finished honoured the Annunciation again with Ave Regina Caelorum. We also sang the psalm and a new English version of the Gloria.

The day was hugely successful - the third such event organised by the Association of Catholic Women. We had teachers from a number of London primary schools, plus a team from St Patrick's School of Evangelisation, and from the Heralds of the Gospel, a new international movement with a branch based near Kingston...

After Mass, some of us lingered, talking and planning... much talk of the Papal visit, current and possible future media storms,the ghastly Children's Schools and Families Bill and its effects, likelihood of tough times ahead...

In London...

...for a meeting at the excellent Billings Family Life Centre run by Veronica Pierson. This Centre has helped to many couples, and Veronica is a person of immense commitment, courage and faith who has been working with dedication and skill since she founded the Centre in the 1980s.

This has been a week for friends. Yesterday a delightful lunch with a fellow member of the Association of Catholic Women, who had just returned from Rome, full of news and joy. She gave me a most beautiful scarf, and some medals and pictures and a lovely calendar with pictures of the Holy Father and we talked and talked. She is busy launching a Trust to raise funds for the school for blind children in India where her daughter has been working...a reminder that there are some wonderful young people who challenge and inspire us. (I'll be publicising more about this Trust in due course - a project hugely worth supporting).

And today an unexpected bonus - meeting a friend whom I had planned to see yesterday evening ...we had missed one another at the Cathedral but then were able to meet instead today. She has been working on the excellent Alive to the World series - amid all the controversy over Govt plans for Personal, Social and Health Education in schools here is something you can really trust as use while the debates rage. It really is a wonedrful resource, with modestly-priced books which children will love, use, read, and enjoy. Do visit that link for a closer look.

And then on to Tyburn, where I was visiting the nuns to make arrangements for the Martyrs Walk. (Book the date: June 20th: details from Continuity/Miles Jesu.) The Sisters at Tyburn are a tonic: I was welcomed with tea, the arrangements for the Walk were discussed with cheerful friendly efficiency, we chatted over dozens of other things, and I felt surrounded by affection and care.

Decided to drop in at Mass at Westminster Cathedral before I went home. We sang some wonderful traditional hymns as well as all the usual glorious Latin chant with the choir, and in honour of its being the vigil of the feast of the Annunciation made a special prolonged genuflection in the Creed. Huge congregation, Archbishop processing down the aisle with crozier blessing people... the Mass honoured Archbishop Oscar Romero, on the 30th annniversary of his death. He is not some one I have ever really studied: interesting info on the Mass-sheet - he prayed the Rosary daily, wore the Carmelite scapular, pleaded with people on both the political left and right in attempts to foster peace in his country. Those who have tried to portray him as a liberation-theologian seem to have rather missed the point.

On arrival home, a bonus - a simply wonderful email message from the dear Sisters at St Cecilia's on the Isle of Wight, with a copy of the message they have sent to the Holy Father. If I get their permission, I'll reprint it on this Blog.

Tenebrae...

...is the Church's traditional Office for Holy Week. Westminster Cathedral gave us a foretaste of it this week, with the most glorious and dramatic Tenebrae you could imagine - the great cathedral darkening as the tall candles were snuffed out one by one, the music soaring to the vast domes, the night sky visible beyond, an absolute and utter silence as the sharp loud clatter of the Strepitus ended and the solitary candle re-emerged to remind us of Christ. As we approach the great drama of Passiontide, here it was, utterly awesome. The great crowd departed in silence.

GOOD...

...commentary and analysis of the Pope's plans for Ireland here in a forthright piece accurately entitled "The end of Euphemism". Sample: "Benedict XVI’s striking combination of candour and hope in addressing what is, quite simply, a disastrous situation may be the beginning of the kind of reform that could make Irish Catholicism vital and vibrant once again."

"Those who see in these scandals an opportunity to cripple the Catholic Church and its moral teaching have long had the card of “cover-up” to play in the global media. That card has now been taken away by Benedict XVI. Those who care for the Church, on the other hand, must now hope and pray that the follow-up from the Vatican is as vigorous and unsparing as the Pope’s letter."

Where is...

...the Millais portrait of John Henry Newman that is listed as being in the National Portrait Gallery? We went there on Sunday with the plan of seeing Newman in the context of other great men and women of the Victorian era. There they all were - Gladstone and Disraeli and Dickens and Baden-Powell and Florence Nightingale ("The Mission of Mercy", one of my favourite pictures)and Manning with his skull-like features...and no Newman!

"He's not here - just when we need him!" commented by young colleague. Just so. Has the portrait been taken for special display in connection with the forthcoming beatification? Where is it at present?

We need Newman's prayers from Heaven for Benedict XVI's visit. Misunderstood and misrepresented so often in life, Newman will surely understand the wretchedness of a Papal visit announcement mired in a fog of horror over scandals from previous decades. John Henry Newman, ora pro nobis...

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.