The Hermeneutic of Continuity

A historic parish Church in the heart of London is gearing up for a new era of evangelisation - with the adoration of God at the heart of all its activity. While in London yesterday, I had a tour of the works that are going on at St Patrick’s, Soho Square . Soho is a byword for chic restaurants and bohemian culture; sadly it is also known as a centre of sleaze, prostitution, drug addiction and other ills. Fr Alexander Sherbrooke, the parish priest of St Patrick’s, spoke to me of his parish, probably the oldest public parish in Westminster Diocese, founded in 1792. He suggested that it was not overly dramatic to say that the evil one has to a degree taken over this part of London. His mission is to develop St Patrick’s as a beacon of Catholicism and a centre for the new evangelisation. Unfortunately, his historic Church has been in a sorry state for some years: Fr Sherbrooke has been working hard to restore it, and to develop new facilities for both the worship of God and the pasto...

That was a headline I did not expect to be writing. The Archdiocese of Westminster has issued a statement today explaining that the pastoral care of people with same-sex attraction will enter a new phase, encouraging people with same-sex attraction to enter more fully into the life of the Church, particularly by participating at Mass "in the midst of the whole Church." The regular "Soho Masses" are to be discontinued. Included in the same statement is the news that the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Warwick Street is to dedicated to the life of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. The pastoral care of people with same-sex attraction will be hosted at the Jesuit Church of the Immaculate Conception in Farm Street under the continued guidance of Mgr Seamus O'Boyle. The full statement can be read after an article by Mark Greaves in the Catholic Herald: Archbishop Nichols ends ‘Soho Masses’ after six years . Damien Thompson has also followed u...

On the feast of the Assumption, Mark Dowd came to Blackfen with producer, Helen Grady to record our Mass at Blackfen and talk to some parishioners in the Social Club afterwards. I had a session with them some days later, talking particularly about the Mass and about Pope Benedict. This was all in preparation for the programme " The Pope's British Divisions " which was broadcast on Radio 4 this morning (it is available on iPlayer for a few days). I was at the seminary at Wonersh for a "Staff Review and Planning Day" and, unusually, found myself listening to the radio after breakfast. Naturally, only a small portion of the recorded material was actually used in the programme; it is part of the art of producing such a piece that a judicious selection is made. As any producer would expect, I would have one or two quibbles but from a media point of view, it is fascinating to see how much work is put into such projects. There were pieces from Pluscarden, Aberdeen,...

Last November, I wrote about my visit to the School of Evangelisation at St Patrick's, Soho Square. Jeanine, the SPES Programme Director has written to me with news of the School of Evangelisation. They came to Soho from as far a-field as Brazil and China, expecting to deepen their understanding of Catholic teaching, but the seven confident young people who are finishing St Patrick’s Evangelisation School (SPES) in June will leave with much more. After a year for God, for discernment and for serving the poor the students at SPES have grown in faith and confidence in witnessing to the Truth. Before arriving in London, Jenny Janeczko, a student from America, had reservations about approaching people in the street. Today she is the one who prays with the homeless, and invites them into the church during her lunch breaks. Another student, Anthony Errington from Lancashire, said that through his experience at SPES he has learned a lot about himself, who he really is and has found the c...

Soho is a part of central London where you find all human life. St Patrick's parish , run by the indefatigable (and surely episcopabile ?) Fr Alexander Sherbrooke, is a model city-centre parish reaching out to the homeless, the young, and various people of a wide variety of nationalities, as well as offering witness in the heart of London, in an area that is "poor in spirit". One excellent initiative is the School of Evangelisation, SPES, which offers a nine month course to form young adults in the Catholic faith. Based in the parish, the people bring hope to the surrounding community, reaching out to people both in the surrounding streets and on their own front door step. There is a dedicated blog for SPES called Hope in the Heart of Soho . Yesterday afternoon I had the enjoyable task of giving a class to the school. This year, unusually, the class is composed entirely of young women so it is a change from my normal teaching duties which involve me lecturing to classes o...

We end our APGL Study Days with the Rosary and Benediction. I ask one of the priests to hear confessions during the Rosary, something that is often forgotten about on events arranged for clergy. Today we were able to use the Church of St Patrick in Soho Square . Here is the fine, restored confessional that was used today: In April, I wrote about the transformation that was taking place at St Patrick's in the heart of Soho with some photos of work in progress but near to completion. All the work has now been finished: the formal opening took place in May, and it is now in full use for the many activities that take place in this thriving central London parish under the care of Fr Alexander Sherbrooke. The Blessed Sacrament is exposed in the Church for adoration all afternoon during the week, so we were able to say the Rosary before the Blessed Sacrament and then have short Benediction. A special feature of the Church is that it houses the image of Our Lady of Guadal...

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned Carol singing for the Good Counsel Network . Today I was at their chapel to give Benediction at the end of the day's Adoration. I always enjoy a cup of tea and a chat afterwards (no chocolate hobnobs in evidence). They told me today that some of the people who turned up to sing carols had heard about it here. So - there are still two opportunities to join them: 16th and 22nd December (see the post mentioned for further details.) Earlier in the afternoon, I was at the St Patrick's School of Evangelisation which has its own blog, Hope in the Heart of Soho . I was speaking about the nature of the Church and it was a good session with lots of questions and exchange from an enthusiastic and thoughtful group of students. Say a prayer for the success of their street evangelisation in Soho and Oxford Street.

Last night, I was giving a talk on "Humanae Vitae - a challenge to the culture" at St Patrick's Soho Square . The parish priest, Fr Alexander Sherbrooke runs a thriving parish in the heart of London with the " School of Evangelisation " putting into practice the call of Pope John Paul for a new evangelisation. The room was packed with young adults and I was impressed by this example of Pope John Paul's affirmation, repeated by Pope Benedict: "The Church is alive, the Church is young." My talk was one in a theological lecture series running most weeks from the end of February until the middle of June, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Humanae Vitae . The parish is going to publish the talks on its website so if you want to see what I said, I'll post a link when the talk is published.

Emitte lucem tuam has very kindly posted a short summary of my talk at St Patrick' Soho Square the other day. See: A challenge to the culture . As I mentioned, the full version will go on the St Patrick' parish website in due course and I will let you know when this happens. (BTW - I forgot to bring my camera on Wednesday. If anyone did take any photographs of the talk, please email them to the Catholic Herald ( editorial@catholicherald.co.uk ) marked for the attention of Anna Arco who might be interested.)

Yesterday, I visited the St Patrick's School of Evangelisation (SPES) at Soho Square to speak about the evangelisation of those who are rich in material things. We were not thinking particularly of the super wealthy but of the average person in Britain who is comfortably off in terms of essentials and has surplus money to spend on such things as leisure, entertainment and holidays. The students spend a year at the school. During this time, they go through the Catechism of the Catholic Church systematically as well as receiving practical training in street evangelisation and in the kind of skills that would be useful in helping in various ways in their own parish. In their work on the streets, they are often joined by one or two of the Missionaries of Charity. I found the whole thing most encouraging - I am sure these good people will make a difference wherever they go after their year at SPES.

Hope in the Heart of Soho is a blog from the School of Evangelisation based at St Patrick's Soho where the parish priest is Fr Alexander Sherbrooke. I was last over there for the visit of Cardinal Pell last year. Archbishop Fulton Sheen often said Mass at the Church and described himself as the parish's unappointed curate. A heads-up too for another UK Catholic blog: Catholic and Loving It by Ella and James Preece. Say a prayer for their baby who is soon to be born. There is a recent post about Whitby Abbey with some great photos.

Family Publications will shortly be publising "A Pure Heart Create for Me". This is a collection of the various talks on " Love and Responsibility " given at Soho Square last year, (including my own talk.) The launch of the book will be at St Patrick's, Soho Square on Thursday 18 June from 6-9pm in the presence of Bishop Alan Hopes. Guest speakers will be Fr Philip Egan on "The Authority of Humanae Vitae" and Fr Anthony doe on "The Grace of Self Gift in Humanae Vitae." All are welcome but please email St Patrick's if you are going so that they can get an idea of numbers attending.

Love & Responsibility Theological Lecture Series 2008 St Patrick's, Soho Square Due to the success of "Catholicism for the Curious" and "Theology of the Body", the School of Evangelisation will be hosting a third series of lectures this year, commencing on Wednesday 27th February at supper & welcome at 6.15pm with talk starting at 7pm. A series of high profile talks to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the encyclical Humanae Vitae . These talks will present a life changing message for a lifestyle of chastity that brings freedom, respect, peace and romance without regret. The talks will seek to unpack and explain the Church’s teaching on the truth and meaning of human sexuality in a way that is challenging, entertaining, encouraging and healing. The speakers will cover an abundance of compelling and uplifting reasons for embracing the virtues of chastity. The first talk will be on Wednesday 27th February and then most Wednesdays until June (see schedul...

Helpers of God's Precious Infants The next vigil at BPAS abortion facility, Bedford Square WC1 will be on Saturday 30 September 2006, beginning at St Patrick's, Soho Square. It will be led by the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. Programme 9am Holy Sacrifice of the Mass at St Patrick's, Soho Square 9.40am Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament 9.50am Prayerful and peaceful procession to BPAS abortion facility with image of Our Lady of Guadelupe, Holy Rosary and hymns 11.30am Return procession with prayers and hymns 12noon Benediction 12.15pm Break for tea and get-together (please bring packed lunch)

A letter to the Times from Catholics, including some priests, dissents not only from the teaching of the Holy See but also from the teaching of the late Cardinal Hume whom they quote in their support. The Letter was published on Monday with 27 signatories, some of whom are familiar contributors to the Tablet , others part of the Soho Masses Pastoral Council and others part of Catholics for a Changing Church (and related organisations.) You have to pay to read the Times online but the letter is published by Bondings 2.0 , the blog of New Ways Ministry. The principal argument of the letter hinges on a Note published by Cardinal Hume in 1997 which can be found at the website of the Archdiocese of Westminster as part of the justification for continuing with the provision of the Diocesan approved Mass for people with same-sex orientation at the Church of the Assumption, Warwick Street, Soho. The letter in the Times refers to Cardinal Hume's affirmation that "love betwe...

The Pilgrimage starts at the Church of St Sepulchre opposite the Old Bailey: the site of Newgate prison. A handbell is kept there which used to be rung at midnight outside the cell of a condemned prisoner. St Oliver Plunkett was the last of the martyrs to hear this bell. The route then goes to St Etheldreda's, Ely Place which was the London Church of the Bishop of Ely, restored to Catholic use in 1876. There, we remember especially Bl Thomas Abel, Bl Richard Fetherston, Bl John Forest, Bl Edward Powell and Bl Nicholas Horner who were martyred at Smithfield; also Bl John Felton and Bl Thomas Pormort, martyred at St Paul's Churchyard. We also begin the Rosary with the first two Glorious mysteries. The next stop is briefly at the Star Tavern which was the home of clandestine Catholic gatherings during the time of Bishop Challenor. The men would have tankards of beer on the table to help put spies or pursuivants off the scent. We then call in for a visit to St Anselm and St Cecilia...

The other day I received my three copies of "A Pure Heart Create for Me: Theology of the Body Today, edited by Robert Colquhoun and published by Family Publications . The book is a collection of the lectures given at St Patrick's Soho Square last year to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Humanae Vitae . The first part of the book consists of lectures specifically on the Theology of the Body and the second part deals with "specific issues for today". There are contributions from Edmund Adamus, Fr Anthony Doe, Fr Richard Aladics, Nicole Parker, Teresa Klepacka and others - the book is well worth reading. My own lecture ("A challenge to the culture") is included in the second part, along with the lecture by Fr Stephen Langridge on AIDS, Condoms and the Catholic Church. Fr Langridge generously acknowledges my own talk on the subject which I gave in his parish a while ago but I am happy to say that his paper is a very good summary of the relevant points with ...

"A Pure Heart Create for Me", published by Family Publications is a collection of articles, mainly based on lectures given last year at St Patrick's Soho Square to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Humanae Vitae . Authors include Fr Stephen Langridge ( Southwark Vocations ), Fr Richard Aladics ( Friends with Christ ), and Nicole Parker of the Central London Fertility Care Centre and myself (on Humanae Vitae as a challenge to the culture). Tonight saw the launch of the book at St Patrick's. Fr Anthony Doe spoke of how the eternal Word's divesting himself of glory in the incarnation and the crucifixion, was the model for human love and its fruitfulness. Fr Philip Egan spoke of the authority of the encyclical in a tightly argued talk that concluded that the teaching was proclaimed infallibly by the ordinary magisterium. (Fr Philip Egan's has recently written a book called "Philosophy and Catholic Theology: A Primer." (See Amazon link below.) It wa...

While I was away in Australia, the Faith Movement held a Day of Faith which I was sorry to miss. Here is a report by Joanna Bogle : Bishop Philip Egan and American author George Weigel were the special guest speakers at the Day of Faith held recently at at St Patrick's Church, Soho Square. The conference was organised by the Faith Movement , which last year celebrated its 40th anniversary. It is one of Britain's home-grown New Movements, runs annual summer gatherings which draw large numbers of young people, and has also become well known for fostering vocations to the priesthood. George Weigel spoke of a newly emerging "Evangelical Catholicism" engaging with the modern world and presenting a message centred on a personal commitment to Jesus Christ as taught by John Paul II and Benedict XVI. "Benedict XVI spoke repeatedly of 'friendship with Jesus Christ' as the heart of the Christian life. It is fostered by prayer, and it must be at the co...

The Daily Telegraph today has a report titled Catholic bishops resist advance of Latin Mass . The key point: In a confidential letter, the Cardinal, the head of the Church in England and Wales, has argued that the provision of the Old Rite was already adequate in this country. Adequate for whom? one might ask. In many places, restrictive permission for the Classical Rite means that people have to go to Sunday Mass at 4pm, or travel to different Churches each Sunday, or have to find priests from the FSSP, the ICKSP or the Archdiocese of Southwark who are willing to travel. Many simply have no provision at all. Several blogs have already pointed out the inconsistency between this letter and the active negotiations which secured approved status for the Gay Mass at Warwick Street, Soho. Despite the unfairness of this, I support Fr Zuhlsdorf's " rules of engagement " for the Motu Proprio. When he wrote it, the title was "when and if it comes" - recent official confir...