Some time ago, towards the end of the post Civil Partnerships and the Church. II Practice, I gave a brief summary of some of the problems that I have with CAFOD, the official overseas development and relief agency of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. These concerns are serious enough for me to refuse in conscience to support the agency until there is a clear change in policy. I arrange instead for money to be collected either for Aid to the Church in need or for the Pontifical Council Cor Unum.In Lent, we used to be asked to observe "Family Fast Day". Some time ago, it became "CAFOD Fast Day". Now it is called "Lent Fast Day". Dermot O'Leary has recently been engaged by CAFOD to promote the initiative which this year focusses on climate change and "going green". O'Leary is a television presenter who has apparently been involved in a number of variants on the "Big Brother" theme, the X-Factor and a breakfast TV programme called "Morning Glory."
In a Telegraph interview (Dermot O'Leary: The real Dermot stands up) he describes his work for CAFOD as his "John the Baptist moment." Leaning back in his chair, he says, "This is me washing away my iniquities and cleansing myself of my sins." (Actually, Dermot, we ask the Lord to do that for us - on his terms. Cf Psalm 50.)
In 2004, he presented a documentary entitled "Some of my best friends are Catholics". The article explains:
In the course of the programme, he made it clear, though, that his was not an unquestioning allegiance. He lives with his TV producer girlfriend, Dee Koppang, cheerfully admits to using contraceptives [...]Last year, I posted an article about Channel 4 sex propaganda, which took the form of a programme called "Lets Talk Sex", presented by Davina McCall, promoting compulsory sex education. I summarised:
Davina will take you (and your children) on a visit to a Dutch sex education class where children as young as four are taught about homosexuality and shown cartoons of various sex acts. Also featured is that tried and trusted method of preventing teenage pregnancy: unrolling a condom over a prosthetic sex aid.At the end of the post, I featured a picture of Davina McCall, saying that I hoped that it would help parents to decide whether this woman was a good person to trust to give advice to their teenage daughters.
Given this new context, it seems that opportune to post the photo again in the hope that readers will support Aid to the Church in Need, Cor Unum, the Medical Missionaries of Mary, the Missionaries of Charity, the St Francis Leprosy Guild, and the Little Way Association. As far as I know, none of these charities feel it helpful to use cohabiting celebrity breast-fondlers in their advertising.
(Feel free to list other good charities in the combox.)UPDATE: In response to a comment, I have added a further post regarding Dermot O'Leary, in the spirit of "right to reply" together with some further comments.
41 comments:
Does Cafod still promote condoms?
Dominie
CAFOD's always been a joke as far as I'm concerned!
Personally, I think you can gain a pretty good insight into the religiosity (or lack thereof) of any organisation by looking at their homepage.
Other than the word 'Catholic' in the name CAFOD, there is nothing else on CAFOD's homepage that suggests they are connected to any religion at all. I think that actually speaks volumes.
Thank you for a useful and informative post. I had not recognised the drift away from "Family" via "CAFOD" to a branding that uses "Lent" as a cultural term somewhat detached from its specifically Christian meaning. Your post, and our earlier discussion on the "conversio ad creata", suggest that, even expressed in just human terms, this branding of what should be an exercise in Christian charity [ie where the act of alms giving grows out of an act of faith in Christ - cf Deus Caritas Est] is off beam.
Mary's Meals
Feed a child for £5.30 (€9) a YEAR
for as water quenches a flaming fire, so does almsgiving wipe out sin(cf.Ecclesiasticus 3, 30-31).
I think CAFOD should be 'struck off' as a Catholic aid agency. Can the Pope issue a sort of excommunication? Over the last few years it is one controversy over another - condoms, homosexuals, promiscuous sex etc... There is absolutely nothing Catholic about them. The problem is that so many Catholics, Churches and Catholic Schools simply go through the motions of Family Fast Day without really thinking about where the money is going. Perhaps Parish Priests, Head Teachers and dare I say our Bishops might dig a little deeper into these matters. Thank you Fr Tim for bringing this to our attention.
This may be a repeat but I've been made to log in by Google after making a post and I'm not sure you will have received ny original message. I follow your blog because it reminds me of how self-indulgent we were at the English College and clerics are and I'm very glad to be out of it. I too was at Oxford and the English College. I think criticising Dermot is a bit a cheap. He may not get his rocks off to a Day with Mary but, as a celebrity, the fact that he owns up to being a Catholic might encourage someone. Dont extinguish dimly burning wicks or crush bruised reeds. I hope your self righteousness brings you happiness
Dennis
I was reading Fr. Tim's post on deserving charities which observe Church teaching.
Amongst other charities, (which I'm sure do excellent work,) Father mentioned Aid To The Church In Need, founded by the late Fr. Werenfried von Straaten.
Of course, it has grown from its small beginnings into an international charity, but there are so many worthwhile projects for it to support, so many calls on its help.
You can see the sort of work supported by ACN, and in which parts of the world, by visiting their website.
You can make a donation for a specific project if you wish, so that you know where your money is going.
Aid To The Church In Need will be very grateful for any help you can give.
If you read just two or three of the worthy projects where ACN has been asked for, or has promised, help, you'll want to assist.
ACN really helps the Church in areas of dire need.
It has no political, green or social agenda. It merely helps the work of the Church. Anyone can join in this great work with a donation.
Oh yes. And ACN doesn't rely on the sort of publicity material or advertising mentioned by Fr. Tim in this post !
I was wondering what parish priests were allowed to do if they had qualms about CAFOD. I had thought it was imposed as a mandatory annual collection.
Glad to see y'all have a choice.
How funny, we were just writing out a cheque to "The Little Way Association" who do wonderful work with the missions. Their address - Sacred Heart House,
119 Cedars Road, Clapham Common, London. SW4 0PR
We share your concerns with Cafod, who we've refused to support for several years now. So we also support Aid to the Church in Need.
Does anyone know whether Caritas is an ok organisation?
Oops, sorry Father, I didn't see that you'd mentioned the Little Way already!
I stopped having anything to do with the so-called Cafod years ago. I assumed it was an occasion of sin to give money to it or, indeed, to just about any other organisation supported from Eccleston Square.
ACN is my prefered Catholic charity - though those mentioned by Fr Tim are all worthy too, as is the Good Counsel Network.
Dear Fr.Finigan I feel that in conscience I cannot any longer support Cafod for all of the reasons that you mention in various blogs. Unfortunately, Cafod is 'big' in my parish and diocese, consequently when the Cafod collection comes round, the organisation receives great endorsement from the P.P.Sadly we have to sometimes persuade the P.P. to allow the SPUC White Flower collection, and he never talks about pro-life issues in the context of the church's teaching;there seems to be a silence over anything that might upset the pewsitters.Of course the point of collections is to raise money-Cafod does very well out of my parish and SPUC does not.I don't think that the other charities that you mention, which are some of my favourites, are known in my diocese.Lots of prayer needed therefore, so I will go and make a start!
Full marks, Jackie !! yes, CAFOD is a joke. yes, they do support condoms in certain third world ( sorry, developing) countries. How do I know. I rang them and checked. They are quite open about it. Yes. this is a Catholic charity which has(presumably) the blessing of our Bishop's Conference, which is quite openly dumping church teaching. GREAT. At least we now know where we all stand.
Yes, so boycott them and encourage others to do so.
Aid to the Church in Need and St Michael's Hospice in Hereford ( staffed by a number of Catholics. Hurray.) will be getting our Lenten Almsgiving donation.
Don`t delay.You know it makes sense. Bin that Family Fast Day Envelope. NOW. You could SAVE LIVES.
Fr. Tim,
The irony of the situation is that for years British Catholics were told to donate to Cafod rather than Oxfam, because the latter promoted artificial birth control methods in eveloping countries. Some would argue that this was Cafod's raison d'etre. We have now come full circle.
Has an audit ever been done of non-religious charities to determine their level of compliance with Catholic teaching? From time to time I donate to Aid to the Church in need, which is a very deserving cause, but I am at a loss to know which charity can be trusted with my money if there is a natural disaster somewhere and I want to make a contribution -- without accidentally funding anti-life initiatives somewhere.
Of course you will be castigated as judgmental and morally censorious. What does it matter if someone holds lightly to church teaching so long as they are a high profile cultural catholic? Justice and Peace, green issues and environmentalism are surely far more important than fusty old doctrine.
Thank you for this reminder Father. I shall support ACN again this year.
Just to make the distinctions clear: CAFOD's official line is that they do not sell, distribute or promote condoms. however, they do support their use as part of a "risk reduction strategy", relying on the moral theology of Enda McDonagh, using a principle condemned in Veritatis Splendor.
Yes, we were self-indulgent at the English College and I am not proud of that. Thank God for the John Paul II and now Benedict XVI generations of seminarians. I agree that it is good or Dermot to "own up" to being a Catholic but it is a pity he has to repudiate the Church's teaching as he does so. My principal concern is that CAFOD are using a celebrity who is a questionable role model for young people - who are obviously the principal target of the promotional material which features him.
Just to make the distinctions clear: CAFOD's official line is that they do not sell, distribute or promote condoms. however, they do support their use as part of a "risk reduction strategy", relying on the moral theology of Enda McDonagh, using the gradualist approach condemned in Veritatis Splendor and Familiaris Consortio.
I still receive the bag of envelopes in preparation for 'CAFOD fast day' and they go straight in the bin - not very environmental but they needn't send them and we can't recycle any paper that is not newsprint.
In this parish we have various appeals during Advent and Lent. Our current Lenten appeal is for Aid to the Church in Need. Our second collections on the first five Sundays in Lent are going to ACN.
Will link to this post. Thanks Fr Tim.
The St Francis Leprosy Guild.
Denis you wrote: I think criticising Dermot is a bit a cheap. He may not get his rocks off to a Day with Mary but, as a celebrity, the fact that he owns up to being a Catholic might encourage someone.
Perhaps you missed the following from fr's post:
In 2004, he presented a documentary entitled "Some of my best friends are Catholics". The article explains:In the course of the programme, he made it clear, though, that his was not an unquestioning allegiance. He lives with his TV producer girlfriend, Dee Koppang, cheerfully admits to using contraceptives.
Perhaps the Catholicism to which Dermot owns up to is his own version and not that as presented in the Catechism or the documents of the Magisterium. Dermot may well encourage someone to return to the Church or to become a Catholic but if these people think that because a 'celebrity' who was baptised a Catholic thinks it ok to have a sexual relationship outside of marriage and use contraceptives the Church approves of these things they are in for a shock. I wouldn't say that fr's post was cheap I would say that it was honest. Did father say anything factually incorrect?
We have Caritas in Australia and I have concerns about their promotion of condoms in New Guinea. I have sent an email to our Bishops' Comission for clarification but am still waiting for a reply. At this point in time I am going to withhold my usual Lenten contribution and insert a note into our Project Compassion box saying why.
CAFOD's official line is that they do not sell, distribute or promote condoms. however, they do support their use as part of a "risk reduction strategy", relying on the moral theology of Enda McDonagh, using a principle condemned in Veritatis Splendor. using the gradualist approach condemned in Veritatis Splendor and Familiaris Consortio
That also seems to be the official line used by Caritas Australia. I had not heard of Enda McDonagh. Could you please speak about what you mean by the gradualist approach or give a link to a site where I can read about it?
We have our red boxes..the one that Fr Tim put on his nose instead of red nose day..can you post it Fr? It is for the APF Association for the Propagation of the Faith...
A suggestion
When we get the little cafod envelope - instead of putting money in, put a note saying why we can't donate and a miraculous medal might be useful too.
Dominie
In reply to francis's comment, SPUC does have a list of charities, here -
www.spuc.org.uk/ethics/Charities_Bulletin_v1.pdf
They point out any anti-life policies. Unfortunately, I don't know how often they update it.
Another charity which I often see promoted in Catholic churches is Christian Aid. As can be seen from the SPUC list, (and I also received confirmation of this in a letter from them) they do promote contraceptives, and sometimes even abortion. Perhaps this should be made more generally known, Father?
Fr I believe you are treating Dermot O’Leary in a very harsh fashion, and have seriously misrepresented him.
Dermot is a person that does very good charitable work, he believes in helping others less fortunate than himself and using his talents to achieve this. Misrepresenting Dermot as a shallow TV presenter is unfair, he comes from a serious journalistic background his family were regional newspaper proprietors in Ireland and he has done extremely well in his career in the British media.
I respect Dermot’s involvement with Charity; he has tackled difficult health campaigns such as Male Testicular Cancer with charity Everyman. The picture of Davina McCall and Dermot, on your blog, is actually originally from a photo shoot taken as a promotion for Breast Cancer Awareness – another difficult health awareness promotion, asking women to undertake regular self-examinations.
Alongside national charities, Dermot has enthusiastically supported small community charities that have little PR value for himself, such as Southwark Irish Pensioners Forum and Irish in Greenwich.
Along with his family, Dermot has supported Catholic charities all his life. How many other people in the British Media support Catholic Charities – it is hardly a fashion statement. Dermot is exemplary in getting young people interested in Charities, Sports and good works.
Dermot’s comment about being “cleansed from sin” was obviously made tongue in cheek in an interview situation.
I have meet Dermot’s parents at a charity function and I know that they would be so upset to see their son misrepresented in this way. Dermot is a person who is genuinely interested in people’s welfare, young and old, and has shown great respect for people as individuals in his work. I think it is very important to present a balanced view of individual especially when we are broadcasting over the World Wide Web.
Just some of charities Dermot supports:
Southwark Irish Pensioners Forum – works with most disadvantaged and isolated people in London http://www.irishinlondon.org/volunteer.htm
Everyman: - UK Male Cancer Campaign - http://www.icr.ac.uk/everyman/
NSPCC http://nspcc.org.uk/
Dermot has worked on London St Patrick Parade Organising Committee.
Claire Hedderman – Our Lady of the Rosary Parish
Claire - many thanks for your comment. It is fair to acknowledge his charitable work and I will do so in another post. However, I think there are still significant problems with the effect that his rejection of Catholic morality will have on young people who so much need to know and live this teaching.
Why do so many traditional Catholics want to make issues about sexual morality the first (and only?)article of the creed? I will, along with most Catholics, continue to support CAFOD.
Oh, we have no issues about sexual morality - just accept the magisterium on the matter. It seems that CAFOD and others have issues with that. As for the first article of the creed, cf. Dermot O'Leary's comments about God.
"He may not get his rocks off to a Day with Mary but..."
The above is a dreadful expression, vulgar certainly and on the verge of being obscene here in the States at any rate, though it might mean something else in the UK of course. It seems at the very least a coarsening of discourse. For my money, for it to appear in same sentence with the name of Our Lady is a kind of diabolical signature.
Here, as so often happened when watching television with my parents and siblings long ago, the moment is quickly gone, but the realization lingers that we've just been had. The ape swings by, flashes an evil grin, and is off to more mischief elsewhere.
Not often are we able to capture that grin as in a photograph for purposes of illustration, but I think this quote illustrates perfectly a technique that is frequently employed by our spiritual enemies. A simple flash of malice, often eliciting a smile, and the moment is over. You have hardly a moment to catch your breath to raise a protest, even if you have the wit to know what has just happened. Besides, you wouldn't want to seem puritanical. While you're weighing what to say, the program has moved on to a different subject.
But children know that Dad has just been had, that the holy atmosphere he has endeavored to create, the spirit of prayer he has tried to inculcate, has been vitiated by a single word, a coarse expression or a gesture. The ecclesiola has been profaned.
In an instant everything has changed for the worse, but only infinitessimally.
And yet, yielding that infinitessimal bit of ground without a fight is in principle to lose the war.
"Nothing impure in the home" says Juvenal, thus laying down an absolute principle we need to defend tooth and nail, whatever charges of puritanism or moralism may come our way- as they surely will. It is only the ape again- in his disguise as pundit and professor.
Or so it seems to me....
We are a church of sinners, that means all of us, but there is a difference between those believe in all the teaching of the church and try to live it, however unfaithfully, and those who do not believe in the teaching in its entirety, of the church and oppose it in their lives and by their example,whilst still claiming to be Catholics.Surely by rejecting or screening out the 'difficult bits' of catholicism, we make it much more difficult for ourselves to receive the necessary grace from God to live the truth, in these, or any difficult times.The Dermots of this world seem to have a serious problem with trusting God to know what is good for them, trusting Him enough to allow Him primacy in running their lives.But as a priest said to me "Jesus gives you everything and He takes nothing away".
Lee - yes, the expression means the same here in the UK. Your analysis of its use is absolutely spot-on and crystallises my own thoughts on the matter.
Yes - I'm with Lee on this one. Well said. And Claire - as you are obviously such a fan of Dermot do the Christian 'fraternal correction' bit , which is your duty, and get him a copy of The Catechism of the Catholic Church. Maybe then he will realise just how ignorant he is on issues of Catholic Morality. One can applaud him on all the issues you've raised but the Catholicity bit is just too much to swallow. Yes, we are all sinners and pilgrims on the road, but some who call themselves 'pilgrim' don't know which road they're on let alone where it's heading and wouldn't know a sin if they fell over one!
"Yes, we were self-indulgent at the English College and I am not proud of that"
Could we have an explanation of this curious comment? My limited experience of seminaries is that they are ghastly places and believe that Rose's "Goodbye Good Men" an accurate summation of the era.
He records one incident from a British seminary when, with unbelievable coincidence, I happened to be present for the weekend.
I am disappointd with CAFOD. But I am afraid this is a problem with most British overseas charities. Antonia Bance, deputy director of Oxfam's UK Poverty Programme (UKPP) and Oxford City Councillor and rach-feminist is disparaging on her blog about fathers who are fighting to gain access to their children: "the fathers’ rights movement are mainly misogynists." This lack of respect for family values on the part of senior managers in charities dispensing assistance to poor communities is seriously worrying, and it smacks of hubris and an utter contempt for the values of many poor people in this world, who respect God and care for their families.
SV - My limited experience of seminaries is that they are ghastly places
were would be more accurate. Many seminaries have changed a lot. There is always more to do.
Self-indulgence with regard to food and drink can go hand in hand with the kind of things described in Goodbye Good Men.
"Self-indulgence with regard to food and drink can go hand in hand with the kind of things described in Goodbye Good Men"
This makes sense and presumably is a reference to alcohol abuse in particular. Not all the behaviours Rose described however were alcohol induced. The self-indulgence I witnessed for example (described in his book ) was simply embarrassing exhibitionism.
The improvement in seminary behaviour is as a result of the seminarians as individuals "improving". Why is this? In my view it owes nothing to the seminaries or bishops themselves but more to the effects of the "great apostasy" combined with the paedophile scandals. In other words, the only young people left going to Mass are going to be, by definition, reasonably serious about their faith - period.
I spoke to one student (about to be ordained) and it was clear to me that he was intellectually immature. I don't mean lacking in "intelligence" but he lacked a clear and intellectually truthful vision of the Church. There was an excessive JPII optimism about him which another John - John-Henry Newman would have found alienating. He didn't understand for example the difference between "tradition" and "conservative" or even, God help us all, "neo-con". He was a "Pope worshipper" in a way that would have lead to him being persecuted no more than 10 years ago before the scandals broke. Now, post-scandal, you can get away with it.
Not my idea of progress or improvement.
Egads! What does breast-grabbing have to do with charity????? That's just downright vulgar. (not you posting it, Father, but the fact that a chrity would use that picture!)
Michelle - to be fair, this was not a picture used by CAFOD but by a breast cancer charity. But yes - egad!
I wish I had read this post before our parishioners had stuffed their well earned wads into the Cafod Fast Day envelopes on the 15th Feb.
Thanks for this informative post.
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