The Tablet Speeches
Clare Short: 'Church gave me best of values that have continued into my political and adult life'
Former Labour minister offers candid and fond reflection on her Catholic upbringing - 17 May 2012 09:00
I've chosen as my theme the link between a Catholic childhood and radical politics. I fear this may be slightly self-indulgent and autobiographical but there are some points that I want to make that have been themes of my thinking in the course of my political life that harks back to gratitude for my Catholic childhood and some of the things that it put into me.
And as I am no longer an active member of the Catholic Church it might be interesting to try and share these thoughts with you and see if they chine with others, so I'm grateful for the opportunity to share these thoughts. My original title was "The link between a Catholic childhood and radical politics and estrangement from the Church" but that was a bit long. I didn't want to mislead anyone about my current relationship ...
Comments (2) | Continue reading..Secularism - good or bad?
Archbishop Nichols and Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor take opposing views - 17 May 2012 09:00
The two most senior clerics in England and Wales set out on the same day contrasting visions of the threats posed to Christianity by secularism.
In a lecture at Ushaw College in Durham on Tuesday, the Archbishop of Westminster warned against "too easily identifying our age as one of ‘aggressive secularism'" and argued that there was "a widespread and deep sympathy and search for the transcendent" in British society.
Meanwhile speaking in Leicester Cathedral, his predecessor Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor warned of an "encroaching militant secularism". Addressing issues ranging from euthanasia to gay marriage the cardinal identified ...
Comments (1) | Continue reading..Portsmouth diocese denies liability for abusive priests
Read letter to clergy explaning why it is fighting court ruling - 17 May 2012 09:00
This week the diocese of Portsmouth launched an appeal against a High Court ruling that a bishop can be held legally liable for abuse committed by his priests.
Last November a High Court judge ruled in favour of a woman who claims she was sexually assaulted by a priest working near Portsmouth area in the 1970s. The court was asked to rule on whether the relationship between a priest and his bishop was akin to that between an employer and an employee.
The diocese's chairman of trustees, Deacon Stephen Morgan, explained to priests that the appeal had been launched because of concern that the High Court ruling would mean there was "no limit" under English and Welsh law to a bishop's liability for the actions of diocesan priests.
The letter is below:
Dear Father, ...
Comments (0) | Continue reading..Battle for religious freedom is far from over
Lord Alton gives the 2012 Tyburn Lecture - 10 May 2012 09:00
The prophet Isaiah reminds us that you should never forget "the rock from which you are hewn." And in the Book of Deuteronomy we are told to "remember the days of old; consider the generations long ago; ask your father to recount it, and your elders to tell you the tale."
Knowing who we are and knowing our personal and family story is one of the reasons why the New Testament contains a detailed genealogy through which Jesus traces all his forbearers.
Knowing who you are and cherishing your community's and your family's narrative is an essential part of everyone's make-up. Knowing who you are gives self knowledge, security and confidence; the absence of this knowledge sows seeds of insecurity and instability. ...
Comments (0) | Continue reading..Vatican conference tackles trafficking
England and Wales bishops host one-day symposium - 10 May 2012 09:00
On Tuesday the bishops of England and Wales and the Vatican's Justice and Peace office, in conjunction with the British embassy to the Holy See, hosted a conference on combating human trafficking. Speakers focused on prevention, pastoral support and rehabilitation and a British victim of trafficking shared her story with delegates.
You can read Cardinal Turkson's opening address and various presentations by other speakers here.
Comments (0) | Continue reading..Cardinal Brady says BBC documentary 'seriously misrepresents' his role
Admits he was part of 'an unhelpful culture of deference and silence' - 3 May 2012 09:00
Northern Irish Cardinal Seán Brady today issued a statement in response to claims about him made in the BBC This world programme entitled 'The shame of the Catholic Church'.
‘With others, I feel betrayed that those who had the authority in the Church to stop Brendan Smyth failed to act on the evidence I gave them. However, I also accept that I was part of an unhelpful culture of deference and silence in society, and the Church, which thankfully is now a thing of the past.' - Cardinal Sean Brady
On Tuesday 1 May 2012, the BBC This world series broadcast a programme entitled ‘The Shame of the Catholic Church' on the BBC Northern Ireland network. In the course of the programme a number of claims were made which overstate and seriously ...
Comments (21) | Continue reading..'Unfriendly churches' to blame for people quitting church
Archbishop Nichols addresses evangelisation conference - 3 May 2012 09:00
Evangelisation is an important theme which is recognised by the whole Church, so we have major initiatives in the Holy See with the establishment of a new department of the Holy See for the New Evangelisation.
Evangelisation is important in the work of the Bishops' Conference which comes under the title of Home Mission and it is also recognised in the initiative of the Holy Father for us to hold a Year of Faith from next October through to the following November. If our discussions in the bishops' conference earlier this week are anything to go by, most dioceses are beginning to fashion their plans for that Year of Faith, particularly as a year in which we will try to deepen our shared understanding of the Faith. I think it's important today too because it helps us to recall and ...
Comments (4) | Continue reading..Full unity the ultimate aim of ecumenism, says Longley
Christopher Lamb - 3 May 2012 09:00
The Archbishop of Birmingham has said he understands those frustrated with ecumenical dialogue but stressed the long term aim is "full visible unity".
Archbishop Bernard Longley was speaking to The Tablet days before members of Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) gathered for their latest round of meetings in Hong Kong, which was due to start on Friday.
"I do understand those doubts, misgivings, and sometimes frustrations and disappointments particularly on the part of those people who have committed many years to dialogue and who at the outset thought the prospects of unity were much more realistic than they are now. New challenges, new obstacles have come in the way in the path of unity," the archbishop, who is co-chairman of ARCIC III, said. "At the same ...
Comments (0) | Continue reading..Assert your faith, unite and back the ordinariate
Nuncio outlines Pope's priorities to bishops of England and Wales - 26 April 2012 09:00
My brother bishops, dear friends in Christ,
I wish to thank each one of you very sincerely for your welcome and for your kind invitation for me to be with you and to address you today. It gives me great pleasure to be here as the Representative of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, and to thank you on his behalf for all that you do. It is a particular pleasure for me to be with you on this, the Solemnity of Saint George, Protector of England and the heavenly patron of this Country. I am also pleased to say once again that I feel that gradually I am coming to know you better and to understand more deeply the challenges and the opportunities which you are facing, both in the public arena and in the life of the Church in Great Britain. ...
Comments (0) | Continue reading..Pope changes German Mass text to say 'for many', not 'for all'
Read the letter explaining the liturgical change - 26 April 2012 09:00
Your Grace, Dear Archbishop,
On your visit on 15 March 2012 you informed me that the bishops in the German-speaking world had not yet reached an agreement on the translation of "pro multis" in the canon of the Mass. There is apparently the danger that when the new edition of the "Gotteslob" [the German prayer and hymn book - published by the German, Austrian, South Tyrolean, Lüttich and Luxembourg bishops' conferences - which also has the Order of the Mass in it] comes out, which is soon to be expected, some parts of the German-speaking world will want to keep "for all" even if the German bishops' conference were to agree on "for many", as the Holy See wishes.
I promised you that I would comment on this most important question in writing in order to forestall a split ...
Comments (8) | Continue reading..Birmingham asks laity to make home visits
Archdiocese facing shortage of priests and shifting demographic - 26 April 2012 09:00
It makes me happy to suffer for you, as I am suffering now, and in my own body to do what I can to make up for all that has still to be undergone by Christ for the sake of his body, the Church. I became the servant of the Church when God made me responsible for delivering God's message to you, the message which was a mystery hidden for generations and centuries and has now been revealed to his saints. It was God's purpose to reveal it to them and to show all the rich glory of this mystery to the pagans. The mystery is Christ among you, your hope of glory: this is the Christ we proclaim, this is the wisdom in which we thoroughly train everyone and instruct everyone, to make them all perfect in Christ. It is for this I struggle wearily on, helped only by his power driving me irresistibly. ...
Comments (0) | Continue reading..Pope hits out at reform-minded priests during Chrism Mass
Accuses them of forcing own agenda on Church - 13 April 2012 09:00
At this Holy Mass our thoughts go back to that moment when, through prayer and the laying on of hands, the bishop made us sharers in the priesthood of Jesus Christ, so that we might be "consecrated in truth" (Jn 17:19), as Jesus besought the Father for us in his high-priestly prayer. He himself is the truth. He has consecrated us, that is to say, handed us over to God for ever, so that we can offer men and women a service that comes from God and leads to him.
But does our consecration extend to the daily reality of our lives - do we operate as men of God in fellowship with Jesus Christ? This question places the Lord before us and us before him. "Are you resolved to be more united with the Lord Jesus and more closely conformed to him, denying yourselves and confirming those promises ...
Comments (5) | Continue reading..Bishop Davies warns Britain not to extinguish Christianity
Says nation would become susceptible to 'any passing ideology' - 11 April 2012 06:00
"Christ your Son coming back from death's domain, has shed his peaceful light on humanity ..." (The Easter Proclamation)
This we sang amid the shadows of our Cathedral last night, a Cathedral which has witnessed many chapters of England's history. Yes, Christ's Resurrection has shed his peaceful light on all of humanity. Indeed, in the clear light of this Easter morning, we can see how this light shines out more brightly than ever amid the gathering shadows of our time. As Christians, many of us uneasily recognize this Easter an effort to obscure, to place in shadow not only the Christian inheritance of this land but our very nature, our destiny and our ultimate good, to echo Pope Benedict's words to us in 2010 (Bellahouston Park 16th September 2010). For it is upon our nature, our ...
Comments (2) | Continue reading..O'Brien: Wear your cross with pride
Cardinal calls for visible witness to faith - 5 April 2012 01:00
Today we celebrate the joy of Easter Sunday morning - having concluded the season of Lent and more especially this past Holy Week. Just one Sunday ago, we commemorated the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, being greeted by the peoples with the waving of palms. In our own liturgies, again central to our celebration was our commemoration of that solemn entry of Jesus - with each one of us having some form of palm in our hands, many folded into the form of a cross.
On Holy Thursday we commemorated the institution by Jesus of the Sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and of the Priesthood in our liturgy - and also remembered the great humility of Jesus in washing the feet of his disciples. ...
Comments (0) | Continue reading..Prime Minister issues brief Easter message
Cameron urges tolerance and extols the 'Golden Rule' - 4 April 2012 04:00
Easter week is a very important moment in the Christian calendar, so I would like to extend my best wishes to everyone here in the United Kingdom, and across the world, at this special time of year.
This is the time when, as Christians, we remember the life, sacrifice and living legacy of Christ. The New Testament tells us so much about the character of Jesus; a man of incomparable compassion, generosity, grace, humility and love. These are the values that Jesus embraced, and I believe these are values people of any faith, or no faith, can also share in, and admire.
It is values like these that make our country what it is - a place which is tolerant, generous and caring. A nation which has an established faith, that together is most content when we are defined by what we ...
Comments (1) | Continue reading..View the new exhibition depicting the Stations of the Cross
As featured in this week's edition of The Tablet - 30 March 2012 09:00
The Tablet 's art critic Laura Gascoigne surveys an exhibition of new works depicting of the Stations of the Cross, each created by a different artist, which has opened in a Welsh country church.
You can view the collection here.
Photography by Alex Ramsay (www.alexramsayphotography.net)
For the church's website and for related events, click here.
Comments (2) | Continue reading..Church 'obsessed with morality at the expense of justice'
Bath and Wells bishop speaks on Romero anniversary - 30 March 2012 09:00
'If they arrest me again, they will take my life.' With these words Lutheran Bishop Medardo Gomez addressed me in El Salvador during a visit I made in 1988. A few months later he was arrested. An appeal from his supporters reached me and many others pleading for help. My contribution was a letter to the Independent calling for his release and to protest at the violence being metered out by the then authorities towards the Church.
At midnight on the Saturday of that week I received news of Gomez's release. Executioners on their way to his cell were told ‘Do not touch this man. He has too many friends in the international community for him to be killed.' Needless to say there was great joy over his release. ...
Comments (2) | Continue reading..Liverpool church re-opens as old rite hub
Bishop Mark Davies hopes church will be 'beacon of hope' - 30 March 2012 09:00
Today we receive the personal blessing of our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, as we begin a new venture in faith: celebrating the opening of a new Shrine Church and the beginning of a new foundation in this Shrewsbury Diocese. Catholic churches have long remained open beyond the times of worship offering to all a place of peace and prayer. To the Catholic mind "a church" whether it is built of tin or stone is always our "home" - with or without a dome! Sacred buildings should be "truly worthy and beautiful" but it is not the architecture which makes them a sacred place but the Presence of Christ, God and man, who makes Himself truly present in the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist as the Catechism declares. So in every church where the Holy Eucharist is validly celebrated the mystery which ...
Comments (3) | Continue reading..Read the Vatican's findings from Ireland
Rome's 'dismay and betrayal' at abuse within the Church - 23 March 2012 09:00
The Vatican on Tuesday issued its summary of findings of its investigation into the Church in Ireland which was ordered by Pope Benedict in the wake of successive revelations of abuse of minors by clerics. You can read it below:
The Summary of the findings of the Apostolic Visitation in Ireland, published herewith, offers a synthesis of the results of the Visitations to the four Archdioceses, to Religious Institutes and to the Irish Seminaries. It has been approved by the Offices which conducted the Visitation and it also contains some further observations from the Holy See, in addition to those that the individual Dicasteries communicated to the leaders of the respective Archdioceses or Institutes: ...
Comments (3) | Continue reading..Today's subtler persecution is no less real
Archbishop Conti's St Patrick's Day homily - 23 March 2012 09:00
Today is a day in which we celebrate something very precious to us - namely our identity. Identity is formed in several ways of course. We see ourselves as children of God the Father, brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, and sons and daughter of our Holy Mother the Church. But our native land completes that identity, enriching it with traditions and culture, memories and emotions.
Coming to this building today, your identity as an Irish community is confirmed in all those ways. This building in which we stand, now renewed and restored, was built almost 200 years ago with a view to providing a spiritual "home from home" from the ever-increasing numbers of Irish families arriving in Glasgow.
That influx had a profound impact on the culture and tradition and history of the Catholic ...
Read the report on anti-Christian discrimination
- 23 March 2012 09:00
Anti-Christian discrimination is growing in Britain and other European countries, according to a new report, under the impact of unfair laws, government indifference and media hostility.
"A significant number of Christians perceive a strong bias against Christians in British public life in favour of other groups, religions and those of a different sexual orientation", said the Vienna-based Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians.
Read the report in full here.
Comments (0) | Continue reading..St David's glorious successors
Abbot Paul Stonham's whistle-stop tour of Catholicism in Wales - 22 March 2012 09:00
We are gathered here today in this fine cathedral church of St Joseph to celebrate three important events: the restructuring of the Diocese of Menevia 25 years' ago, the 40th anniversary of the priestly ordination of Bishop Tom [Burns] and the tenth anniversary of his episcopal consecration. We're also here to celebrate a great victory, the Grand Slam! It's not really for me to talk about Bishop Tom, even less to preach his panegyric, so I'll do what he asked and say something about the history of the Catholic Church in Wales, his land of adoption, the land to which, no doubt, one day he will lose his heart. But let us remember first of all that today this cathedral and Diocese live under the protection of St Joseph, the just man, the man of honour, faith and obedience, who was called by ...
Comments (0) | Continue reading..Tony Blair's studied silence on gay rights
- 22 March 2012 09:00
Tony Blair, who became a Catholic in 2007, has called on Pope Benedict XVI to rethink church teaching on homosexuality and more recently made it clear via friends that he is in favour of gay marriage.
But last week he was asked by the Guardian about gay rights during a joint interview with Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the Nobel Prize-winning President of Liberia. She made it clear that was not about to decriminalise homosexual acts, which are illegal in Liberia. Blair, for his part, told the interviewer: "I'm not giving you an answer on it."
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