The Hermeneutic of Continuity

The Catholic Education Service of England and Wales has appointed Greg Pope as Deputy Director. Greg Pope is a former Labour MP for Hyndburn (he took the seat from the strongly pro-life Ken Hargreaves.) He has voted against amendments to lower the time limit for abortion to 16 weeks. He also signed a parliamentary motion praising a condom manufacturer for helping schools host “National Condom Week”, signed motions promoting the IPPF , and contraceptive awareness week , voted against amendments restricting adoption to heterosexual couples , and has voted in favour of compulsory sex education. For the whole sorry list with links, see John Smeaton: Catholic Education Service appoints anti-life and anti-family ex-MP as deputy director . Greg says: The CESEW is widely respected for the work that it is doing under Oona Stannard’s leadership and I am very proud to be joining this successful team.” For some indications of the wide respect that there is for the CES among the Catholic laity,...

Photo: Mazur/catholicchurch.org.uk Recently, the Government introduced an amendment to the Children, Schools and Families Bill, allowing Faith schools to teach Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE) "in a way that reflects the school’s religious character." The Catholic Education Service (CES) claimed credit for this, citing its "extensive lobbying." As we have now come to expect, according to a wearily familiar pattern, the purported concession is worthless, allowing the Government to be seen to appease Catholics, and then reassure the secularists and gays who protest loudly. Under pressure from humanist and homosexual activists (e.g. NSS and Pink News ) but focussed particularly as a response to the Accord Coalition , the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) has issued a response . In a "Let's be absolutely clear" statement, the DCSF specifies that faith schools will not be able to opt of statutory PSHE and SRE (sex and rela...

The Holy Father spoke of several key issues during his Address to the Bishops of England and Wales today. The MSM (e.g. Times ,  Telegraph ,  Independent ,  Daily Mail ,  Mirror , BBC ) have zoomed in on his remarks about equality legislation: Your country is well known for its firm commitment to equality of opportunity for all members of society. Yet as you have rightly pointed out, the effect of some of the legislation designed to achieve this goal has been to impose unjust limitations on the freedom of religious communities to act in accordance with their beliefs. In some respects it actually violates the natural law upon which the equality of all human beings is grounded and by which it is guaranteed. I urge you as Pastors to ensure that the Church’s moral teaching be always presented in its entirety and convincingly defended. Fidelity to the Gospel in no way restricts the freedom of others – on the contrary, it serves their freedom by offering them the truth....

Shortly before Christmas, I received the splendid new book from Family Publications: " The English vicars Apostolic 1688-1850 " by Fathers Nicholas Schofield and Gerard Skinner. The book gives short biographies of each of the Vicars Apostolic, arranged chronologically within each district. A Vicar Apostolic is in bishop's orders but exercises his authority in the name of the Pope, rather than in his own name as bishop of a diocese. In the excellent introduction to the book, Fr Nicholas Schofield quotes Ronald Knox who described the English vicars as: "emissaries from Rome, personally responsible to the Holy See - as if this island had been some newly discovered territory in the Pacific, whose inhabitants were mere beginners in the faith." The most outstanding of the Vicars Apostolic was the saintly Richard Challoner, though there is also an increasing knowledge of Bishop Giffard. The period was marked by controversy, especially dissension between the secular...

Fr Paul Keane, an alumnus of the Venerable English College at Rome, has written an excellent book about the pictures which decorate the Tribune of the Church of St Thomas of Canterbury at the College. There is a good introduction and then a narrative description, together with colour plate reproductions, of each of the 34 newly restored paintings. In the course of describing the paintings, the book offers a helpful and sensible summary of the myths and legends relating to the early Catholic history of England, as well as giving a good introduction to the lives of the martyrs. Available from Family Publications . Price £17.50 (232pp)

St Anthony Communications have produced a DVD called "Arise Once More" to offer an encouraging and hopeful look at Catholicism in Britain today and to encourage Catholics to revive the faith by their example, teaching and witness. The film gives a summary of the history of Catholicism in Britain, beginning with St Alban and the beginning of Christianity in these isles, following the great cultural, artistic and educational achievements of the middle ages, looking at the tragedy of the Reformation, and the Second Spring which brought new life to the Church. The last section of the film focusses on the need for a revival of Catholic life and the steps necessary to achieve it. I have just watched the film through and I think it is an excellent resource for parishes, offering an upbeat response to the dismal secularist propaganda about the Catholic Church that can be discouraging to ordinary Catholics. The commentary is provided by James and Joanna Bogle, Fr Marcus Holden, Fr An...

Fr Charles Briggs regularly poaches my parishioners for his 7.30pm usus antiquior Low Mass on a Friday evening and I often poach his parishioners for my Masses at Blackfen. We are cool about this in the spirit of inter-parish collaboration. So I dropped in to his Mass this evening before we both went out for a late supper of fish and chips. Fr Briggs is an assiduous follower of the compulsive source of Catholic information which is Gloria TV news. Presented by the lovely Doina Buzut (with whom, I am proud to say, I am friends on Facebook) this is a source of pleasantly presented but hard-hitting news items from the Catholic world. Today's news has a particular focus on England with an item at the beginning reporting on Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor's comments on the Holy Father's proposals for Anglicans to come into full communion with the Catholic Church. Bloggers will also be interested to see that Damian Thompson is also featured. The news picks up on his articl...

You can read the CESEW response to the Governments latest proposals on sex education in schools, and a clarification which states: We welcome the government’s reiteration of its support for the important principles underlining SRE, which emphasise that schools continue to have the legal right to determine the content of what is taught in PSHE within their schools and that governing bodies retain the right to determine what is taught, and must determine this in line with the ethos of the school. The Times reports on the sex-ed proposals in its article: ( Pupils to be forced to have sex education under age of consent ). Here is an extract: Mr Balls said: “It is open to faith schools to teach what they believe, according to the tenets of their faith, that pupils should not have sexual relationships outside of marriage.” But faith schools would not be allowed to refuse to teach about contraception on the grounds that they do not believe in sex before marriage, he added. “You can teach th...

As I reported yesterday, the Catholic Education Service for England and Wales has broadly supported the Government's proposals for registration and monitoring of home educators. In its response to the Government's consultation, the CES said that it was not aware of any model or programme for Catholic Homeschooling. Commenters have been industrious in offering the CES some helpful information in this regard. Looking at these sites, I am most impressed by the quality of material offered and the courageous approach to curriculum development. Commonly the programme websites list the various universities to which graduates of their programmes have transferred. First of all a couple for which I have found official recognition from the local Bishop: Seton Home Study School officially recognised by Bishop John Keating of Arlington as entitled to call itself "Catholic" under canon 803.1 Angelicum Academy A "Great Books" programme officially recognised by Bishop Mich...

I have not time to do much analysis of this but I thought readers might be interested to see the response of the Catholic Education Service (CES) to the Government's proposals for registering and monitoring homeschooling families. The CES agrees with proposals for registration, agrees that someone should have the right to visit and inspect (though suggests this should be OFSTED rather than the Local Authority), but disagrees with the right to interview children alone - suggesting that a "trusted person" should be present. The CES also wants a share of the monitoring arrangements: We have also been told of parents describing their home schooling arrangements and curriculum as being “Catholic home schooling". There is no such model or programme of which we are aware and it is important that monitoring authorities are aware of this and feel able to revert to diocesan authorities and/or CESEW for advice if such queries arise. We would also find it helpful to be kept in...

Here are a couple of YouTube videos that have been posted of today's momentous press conferences. First from the Sala Stampa of the Holy See: And secondly from the briefing at Eccleston Square: I am receiving information from many sources about today's events and trying to filter it in the midst of various other duties. I'll post something in due course to try to give some background to these events.

the news has been confirmed today that Bishop Bernard Longley has been appointed to the Archdiocese of Birmingham. I first met Bishop Bernard when I was a student at Oxford and he had just finished his degree and entered the seminary at Wonersh. Bishop Longley was a major figure at the Oxford Union as an undergraduate and his cultured, kindly manner will surely endear him to the people of his new Archdiocese. I offer him every good wish in his appointment and pray that the Lord will assist him in his pastoral ministry. Here is a video of an interview with Bishop Longley following the news of his appointment: More at the Bishops' Conference website .

A correspondent has sent me these beautiful photographs from the Chapel of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs and St Ignatius in Chideock, Dorset. Many thanks to him also for the background information which I have incorporated into this post. The framework of the building was originally, a barn where the Catholic faithful gathered to attend secret Masses celebrated by priests operating under cover. Very soon, the location was identified and became unsafe but then a secret chapel was built in the loft area and the walls painted in fresco fashion. These faded and peeling images are still clearly visible today. Amazingly, the “hidden chapel” continued to be used for nearly 150 years before it became relatively safe for Catholics to emerge to a cautious semi-public existence in the early 19th century. It was in this period that a local Catholic family of some wealth (the Welds), bought the estate and began the process of transforming the barn into a beautiful and richly decorated Chapel. The work ...

H/T to NLM for the news that Fra Lawrence Lew OP today made his solemn profession as a Dominican at the Priory of the Holy Spirit at Oxford. Above is my "paparazzi" picture of Fra Lawrence taking photos of the Dominicans on pilgimage at Lourdes earlier in the summer. Please pray for Fra Lawrence and for the English Dominicans who are making such a great contribution to the revival of Catholic life in England.

Another new film recently released is St Cuthman of Steyning, by Mary's Dowry Productions . The story of St Cuthman's life is told simply with some glorious photography of the Sussex countryside where he lived. The humble Saxon Shepherd was noted for his trust in God's providence and for building the Church at Steyning; Ethelwulf, the father of King Alfred the Great was buried there. St Cuthman is usually shown with a one-wheeled cart in which his disabled mother sat while he pushed her on their travels through the countryside. King Edward the Confessor gave the Church to the Benedictine Abbey of Fécamp; the monks transferred the saint's remains to their Abbey and devotion to him began to spread on the continent. The film can be ordered from the Mary's Dowry Productions website, priced £2.99 Fr Nicholas Schofield wrote about The Story of St Cuthman on his blog some time ago.

Iwene Tansi was born in 1903 at Igboezunu in Nigeria. When he was baptised at the age of nine, he received the name Michael. He worked as a catechist and teacher before entering the seminary. He was ordained a priest of the Onitsha diocese in 1937 at the age of 34. While serving as a priest in the diocese, his ministry was marked by great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and by spending long hours in the confessional. He also baptised the future Cardinal Arinze and inspired him to respond to a priestly vocation. In 1950, Fr Tansi came to England to join the Cistericians of Strict Observance (Trappists) at Mount St Bernard Abbey in Leicestershire. He remained there until his death in 1964. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 22nd March 1998, in Nigeria. In the year of his beatification, the first pilgrimage to honour him took place at the Abbey. Since then it has been held annually in Grace Dieu Manor; but this year the pilgrimage returns to the Abbey on Sat 29 August, beginning w...

The Year for Priests page at the website of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales is very good. As well as Pope Benedict's message, the letter from Cardinal Claudio Hummes, and the message from Archbishop Mauro Piacenza, there is a piece from Fr James Clark who was in Rome when the Year for Priests was launched (pictured with Fr Michael Branch) and an interview with Fr John Flynn.

Taking my daily flick through the blogs, I find that NLM has various photos of the Installation, Vespers etc. from ... the Flickr photostream of the Catholic Church in England and Wales . It even has a creative commons license. Let's not be sniffy about this. Congratulations! Sincerely. Here's a photo from Solemn Vespers: And yep - Photo credit: CCN/Marcin Mazur.

At the Westminster Archdiocesan website, there is a new Archbishop Vincent Nichols - Installation Blog which has some details of the preparations for the ceremony. The raised wooden platform on the sanctuary has been removed and the forward-facing altar has been moved back, allowing for a much larger area on the sanctuary in front of the altar. Some raised flooring has been added around the High Altar to make room for Archbishop Nichols and the Westminster Auxiliary Bishops to stand during the Mass. Of course, many of us would love it if the Mass were actually celebrated at the High Altar ad orientem but it is very encouraging to see that there is a willingness to question the liturgical status quo and to make better use of the sanctuary for such a celebration. The Mass of Installation will be on Thursday 21 May at 12noon and will be televised.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales has issued a press release at the end of the meeting which has taken place this week. Archbishop Vincent Nichols was elected President of the Conference unanimously and by acclamation. The post which he formerly held as chair of the department for Catholic education and formation will now be filled by Bishop Malcolm McMahon. I will be able to congratulate Bishop McMahon personally as I will be assisting him as subdeacon at Pontifical High Mass next week at the chapel of the Knights of Malta at the hospital of St John and St Elizabeth I was also delighted to hear that Fr Marcus Stock has been appointed as General Secretary to the Bishops' Conference.