If you watch the video through, you can see how Barry Sheerman bowls gentle questions to those who think that "faith schools" discriminate against poorer pupils and then various bouncers at the Church representatives.
The Independent has spun the story round into an attack on the Bishop: Ban anti-Catholic books in schools, says bishop
When grilled about not wanting to allow anti-Catholic books in Catholic school libraries, the Bishop quite reasonably pointed out that everyone would ban some books - for example books denying the holocaust. In the hands of the Independent, this becomes
A Roman Catholic bishop has likened books which criticise the teachings of the Church to works that deny the Holocaust took place.of course he did no such thing: this is simply misdirection in response to an unanswerable argument.
Oh, and by the way, for many of you reading this blog who will be interested in such matters: I have been contacted by two priests of the diocese who tell me that Bishop O'Donoghue issued an exemplary statement on the Motu Proprio and the TLM is celebrated regularly each month in the Cathedral by the Cathedral Dean. He also appointed the thoroughly orthodox Fr Luiz Ruscillo to head up the diocesan education department.
I'm sure it is not too late to start a book on him at Paddy Power for Westminster. He would be a better bet than a certain "Fr Tim Finigan" who is ludicrously quoted at 10-1. ROFL
8 comments:
I actually think Bishop O`Donoghue was there to as a smokescreen to cover whatr was actually taking place. The evidence offered by the experts was woeful, with all the comment "I didnt actually look at this but..." "I did not go into that but....Pride of place goes to Anne West of the London School of Economics who agreed with Barry Sheen that discrimination on admissions `could` have taken place by friendships with governors,etc. The could became it did. At the beginning before he sat down Barry`s voice was heard to say "We have to be careful" This is not the end they are up to no good.
Dear Father,
I've just seen the video which was very interesting. I agree that the questioning of the bishop's panel was much more hostile than that of the earlier panel of academics and - pace Robert Colquhoun, commenting on your earlier post - the questions addressed to Bishop O'Donoghue had little to do with discrimination on the basis of income. They seemed to be motivated by a secularist failure to tolerate a specifically catholic educational ethos. As a catholic father from Lancaster diocese who feels sorely let down by church schools, I'm very glad to see the bishop taking steps to change this.
I'm glad to hear about Bishop O'Donoghue's supportive ad clerum on Summorum Pontificum. Several priests in the southern part of Lancaster diocese offer regular traditional masses, although there is no regular weekly celebration anywhere in the diocese so far as I know. My family and I rely on a visiting priest from the ICKSP, Fr. Hudson, who celebrates mass each week in the north of Liverpool archdiocese. The ICKSP has offered to take responsibility for one of the many churches in Lancaster diocese which have been recommended for closure (including, if memory serves, six of nine parishes in the deanery where I live - St Walburge's, Preston). I pray that Bishop O'Donoghue will accept their offer.
The bishop's stand is an encouragent to us in education. My school, an independent day school, uses the Way, the Truth & the Life. We are not denominational but I like the theology in that series and, as Head of RS, i have largely based my syllabus around it. Excellent website, Father.
Of course 10-1 for "Fr. Tim Finegan" is ludicrous. It's probably more like 7-1. :-D
You know what that so-called panel of educational 'experts' really needs - a solid theological, ethical, moral and spiritual slap around the head with a wet halibut!
You know what they say about experts - an 'ex' is a has-been and a 'spe(u)rt' is a drip under pressure.
These people are under a LOT of pressure. The government is at an all time low, the Brown is losing face big-time (poor leadership, no charisma etc... yada yada yada), education is in a shambolic state(except for 'Faith' Schools that continue to shine), sex education policies are bankrupt and have failed our children dismally over 40 years. Yes this government is panicking and so instead of admitting that they have been so stupid and learning from their mistakes, the old knee-jerk reaction comes out to try to 'smoke screen' their way out of trouble. Bishop O'Donoghue will have none of it! And neither should any of our other good Bishops and Priests. The Catholic laity -that's us parents, teachers and governors, have been fighting this battle hard for years - we so desperately need the support of our clergy. Please help us to keep our schools and children Catholic.
Dear Father,
I am glad to see you have been keeping tabs on your odds to be heading to Westminster. Did you happen to stumble across this while checking the odds for i-phone reducing in price? To be honest, I was rather hoping that you might be tempted into assisting in St Andrews. I'm sure Fr Halloran would be pleased.
I do find The Times quotation worrying, though not unexpected. The innacurate reporting is eerily reminiscent of reports surrounding Pope Benedict XVI's speech at the University of Regensburg. Like before, the subject under discussion is marrying reason and religion. The Bishop and the Pope both give substantiated contributions to one's propogating the faith, and one's understanding of it's relationship with reason, respectively. Wonder what substance there was behind the questions of that committee? How dare parents have the freedom to have their children's consciences formed according to the parents choice! This is the nanny state after all.
Dear Fr....perhaps your 'bet' on Bishop O'Donoghue being appointed to Westminster is not such against the odds...after all as the photo of him shows him seated in the lower library of Archbishop's House ,Westminster (when he was Auxiliary Bishop there) then he seems quite at home in the surroundings to me!!
Fr. Tim,
I watched the video. Would it ever occur to secularist education experts that there might be spiritual reasons why Catholic schools have -- as was alleged -- lower percentages of children getting free school meals?
Silly question!
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