Priests and bishops are sinners too, says Cardinal

Cardinal Vincent Nichols has said that priests and bishops are sinners and that trying to hide their failures “seriously compounds” the problems, as he paid tribute to the English Catholic martyr St John Southworth.

Cardinal Nichols described the saint, who was from Lancashire and ministered in Westminster, as “a key patron of priests of this diocese” and an “inspiration”. The body of the saint, whose feast day is 27 June, is placed in the central aisle of Westminster Cathedral for the Mass of priestly ordinations, when the candidates prostrate themselves face down with their “special patron” in their midst.

In a pastoral letter read out in parishes of the Diocese of Westminster on the Nativity of St John the Baptist, on 24 June, the Cardinal said that like the saint, priests “depend on the support and love of faithful people”.

He continued: “While the deadly drama has ended, over the centuries a marvellous tradition has remained of genuine love for priests and a readiness to support them, through thick and thin. I ask you, today, to continue that tradition and share it with your families.” Cardinal Nichols appealed for prayers for priests, especially six new priests to be ordained next week and all priests serving in parishes.

He went on to say that priests and bishops are sinners. “There is no hiding our mistakes and faults,” the Cardinal said. “Indeed, we have learned painfully, that trying to hide major failures, especially in relation to the most vulnerable, seriously compounds the failures and betrayals that so damage our shared mission. Today, I express my sorrow at our failings and I ask for your patience, forbearance and, indeed, forgiveness.”

Cardinal Nichols outlined the plight of the saint, who lived from 1592-1654, saying: “To be a Catholic priest in England in those days was considered to be an act of treason and punished by the cruel death of hanging, drawing and quartering. This is how St John Southworth died…at Tyburn, near Marble Arch in central London.

“By then he was no stranger to central London. His priestly ministry started in Lancashire. But after his first arrest, he was moved to a gaol in London. In 1630, he was spared execution and deported to France. He returned, determined in his mission, to minister in the streets of central London, around Westminster, to those impoverished and sick because of the plague. In 1637, he was again imprisoned. Again, he avoided trial and for 14 years continued his clandestine ministry in our streets, in and out of prison. Finally, in 1654, he was arrested and brought to trial. He refused to deny that he was a priest. The magistrate, sick of so many executions, reluctantly sent him to his death on the gallows.”

The pastoral letter comes on the 450^th anniversary year of the founding of the English College in Douai, northern France, when martyr priests are remembered. Cardinal Nichols said that the coming months will be a time for renewal of "priestly mission and purpose", which will come to a head on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, on 28 June, 2019, a day set aside by Pope Francis for prayer and renewal of all priests. On that day, diocesan priests from England and Wales will be invited to Westminster Cathedral for a Mass of thanksgiving and renewal.