The Hermeneutic of Continuity

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,...

While I was away, I read several news reports on the final decision of the Charities Commission concerning Catholic Care, the adoption agency of the Diocese of Leeds, which won the right to appeal against the Commission's earlier ruling that they would have to consider homosexual couples as adoptive parents. The Charities Commission has reconsidered its decision and come back with more of the same. The Commission considers that the charity has not met the requirements for showing that there are particularly convincing and weighty reasons justifying the proposed discrimination. One key point in the Charity Commission summary is: The High Court indicated respect for religious views is not a justification for discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation in the circumstances of this case. One might want to counter that respect for sexual orientation is not a justification for discrimination against a Catholic charity, forcing it to close. The case demonstrates that in today...

All the little epsilons reports on the visit of boyband Inju5tice to the state school in which she teaches. (See: The sort of evangelisation Catholic Voices and other lay Catholics might be more usefully engaged in? ) Not surprisingly, I suppose, these boybands have long been popular at events on the gay scene which have proved a lucrative sideline for them. Now it seems that the fashion is to be more openly ambiguous and milk the gay market at the same time as appealing to teenage girls. You can go to all the little epsilons for the link to their interview with Bent magazine in which the members of  Inju5tice  submissively respond to questions such as which male star they would like to date, and what brand of "undies" is their favourite. As epsilon observes in their list of engagements, their tour includes visits to several Catholic schools. I'm not sure what the value is of inviting them into schools at all, still less Catholic schools. Catholic parents who are ...

Gay activist Peter Tatchell who organised the Protest the Pope Coalition and has arranged various anti-Catholic protests in the Piazza outside Westminster Cathedral, has been commissioned by Channel 4 to present a documentary on the Holy Father. Let me quote the major political blogger Ian Dale : If you were a commissioning editor at Channel 4 and wanted to make a documentary about the Pope's religious and political journey since the 1930s, who might you get to front it? Ann Widdecombe? Sue MacGregor? Ed Stourton? No. Channel Four has chosen Peter Tatchell. Yes, your gob is smacked, isn't it? Peter says he wants to produce a completely factual programme. In which case, why did Channel 4 choose him? Surely his attraction to a programme maker is that he is deeply opinionated. Never mind the headlines "Catholics angry" etc. This is a calculated insult typical of our "I can do what I like" culture. Catholics may well feel minded to write to Channel 4; ...

The Reluctant Sinner has been to Westminster Cathedral to chat to the security team and find out what happened at yesterday's homosexual Rainbow Sash protest. As he reports , nobody turned up. I think we can all be relieved that the rainbow was so completely washed out. As I said in my previous post , this kind of protest does not by any means represent homosexual Catholics, most of whom live in peace and quiet, struggling with temptations from time to time just as we all do. To be honest, I am impressed and heartened by the Catholic gay community's universal rejection of the Rainbow Sash nonsense.

The Rainbow Sash Movement is planning a protest at Westminster Cathedral during the 10.30am Mass this coming Sunday 23 May. The website says: The Rainbow Sash is worn during the Sacred Liturgy as a symbol of self identification, and indicates that the wearer is a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Ally (LGBTA). The text goes on to say: Pentecost is the Birthday of the Universal Church it is a time to celebrate our diversity as a people of faith with honesty. We welcome all who believe that all the member s of our Church can approach the sacred Eucharist with humility, and integrity. Participation does not require membership in the Rainbow Sash Movement or that you need to be of the Catholic faith. None Catholics are encouraged to join us in this celebration. (Spelling and punctuation errors in the original.) First of all, it should be understood clearly that this kind of protest does not by any means represent all homosexual Catholics. Many Catholics with a homosexual orientat...

Dale McAlpine is a Christian street preacher who was at his pitch in Cumbria, preaching the gospel. After his preaching, in response to a question from a passerby, he spoke of a number of sins that were condemned in the Bible, including homosexual behaviour. After the passerby made a complaint, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Liaison Police Community and Support Officer (sic!) challenged him and then arranged for Her Majesty's Constabulary to come and arrest him. You can see the build-up in the video above; it goes like this: Police : What have you been saying, homophobic wise? [...] Dale : I spoke to your officer earlier and he was upset that I was saying homosexuality was a sin - which is what the Bible says. And I affirm that's what I say because that's in the bible and there's no law, there's no law... Police : Well there is. Dale : No there isn't Police : There is. Unfortunately mate, it's a breach of Section 5 of the Public Orde...

Good Father Ray Blake has been in the papers recently. First of all he made mention of the "hedonistic gay lobby" which resulted in coverage in the Brighton Argus. His response Anger in the Lobby is well worth reading for an insight into the work of a compassionate and pastoral priest in Brighton. Then he wrote about Feeling Sorry for Jon Venables which created something of a media frenzy with a BBC cameraman sent down on a doorstep mission (unsuccessful since Father was doing some pastoral work at the time.) Laurence "Bones" England has an account of this in which he has a photo of the local paper's bill for that day. (Do read Fr Ray's actual post before jumping to conclusions.) I did enjoy one of Laurence's suggestions for a future billboard:

The Telegraph reported today: Priest apologises for joking that marriage is not for 'Adam and Steve' . (He is not in fact a priest but a Deacon - as the report mentions in the first line. Slightly annoying in a quality paper but ho-hum.) Rev Frank Wainwright mentioned civil partnerships in his sermon at St Gregory's, Cheltenham, on Sunday and said that marriage is between Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. Apparently five members of the congregation have complained and the deacon has been branded as a homophobe by lesbian and gay groups. So let's have a look at the "Adam and Steve" thing. In 2001, openly gay playwright Paul Rudnick wrote a play called " The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told ". this was a parody of the bible in which Adam wakes up and realises that he is gay - then gets together with his boyfriend Steve. There was a 2005 film about a gay couple called " Adam and Steve ", and there is a gay dating agency called ... Adam and St...

The agency Catholic Care works on behalf of the Diocese of Leeds, offering a variety of services in the Yorkshire area, including adoption services. Since 2007, Catholic Care has been engaged in a legal battle to remain open as a Catholic adoption agency and operate in accord with Catholic belief in the face of the Equality Act which would require the agency to be open to placing children with homosexual couples. The other Catholic adoption agencies have either closed or transferred their adoption provision to a newly-formed non-Catholic charity. It is most heartening that three Bishops have made it clear that "Neither of these options is acceptable to us or to the Trustees of Catholic Care ." Bishop Roche of Leeds, Bishop Rawsthorne of Hallam, and Bishop Drainey of Middlesbrough issued a Pastoral Letter last weekend explaining these matters to the faithful and asking for their prayers. The Charity Commission refused to allow Catholic Care to change its objects so tha...

Last Sunday, a group gathered outside Westminster Cathedral to protest against the visit of the Holy Father to Britain. They walked to the Italian embassy in Grosvenor Square and had a rally there. The British Humanist Association website gives some information about the event and there is a page at meetup.com . (The organisers give a figure of 200 attending so there are unlikely to have been more than that.) The demo was set up to co-ordinate with a similar one organised in Rome by the Facciamo Breccia Coalition . Speakers came from the BHA, the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association, the Protest the Pope coalition, the European Humanist Federation, the National Secular Society, Outrage and others. The various groups report on the event focus on their own concerns. The humanists emphasise the secular Europe agenda while the gay groups claim that the demo was mostly LGBT. I expect it was a mixture of both. We can expect from of the same in the run-up to the Holy Father's visit,...

The gay magazine Attitude has recently published an interview with David Cameron in which he has tried to convince the gays that he has converted from being a diehard supporter of Section 28 to being a right-on "it's normal and harmless" guy. For what it's worth, they don't trust him: the magazine invites readers to make up their own minds about "whether his pro gay conversion is simply to win votes." The text of the interview is not available online and there is no way I am going to scandalise my devout and hard-working Hindu neighbours by buying a copy in their shop, so I am relying on quotations. Ruth Gledhill has helpfully focussed on his remarks on Christianity. (See: Cameron tells Rowan: Make your Church pro-gay ) Cameron effectively confirms that if a Conservative Government is elected there will be no change in the current drive to prevent "faith schools" from teaching Christian doctrine. In response to the loaded question 'Do...

In advance of the General Election, the leader of the Liberal Democrat Party in Great Britain, Nick Clegg, has detailed a series of proposals regarding homosexuality. The most disturbing of these is that he considers that "Faith Schools" should be required to teach that homosexuality is "normal and harmless". He also wants gay couples to have the right to describe themselves as married, rather than in civil partnerships. It is an indication of the lack of effective opposition from Churches, from other faith groups (who largely share our moral teaching concerning homosexual activity) and in particular from the Catholic Church, that the leader of one of our mainstream parties feels that it is a politically advantageous move to threaten the persecution of "Faith Schools" and the enforcement of regulations that could not be followed in conscience by many such schools. See also the post from John Smeaton .

YLE news from Finland reports the remarks of the new Bishop of Helsinki, the Rt Rev Teemu Sippo, regarding Swedish Lutheran proposals to allow religious ceremonies to recognise the partnerships of same-sex couples. He points out that everything that happens in Sweden moves to Finland sooner or later and that marriage should not be regarded simply as an administrative matter but as a sacrament. He fears for relations between the Lutheran Church and the Catholic Church in Finland. He also questions the wisdom of handing out free condoms to young people: Handing out condoms is like telling people to use them. I believe youths should instead be encouraged to practice abstinence. See: Finland’s Catholic Bishop Warns of Rift with Lutherans over Gay Marriage

The Voice carries the story of Denise Haye who was sacked from her job at Lewisham Council's legal services department after posting her Christian views on homosexuality on the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement website. She filled in an enquiry form which invited readers to give an opinion. See: Sacked christian to sue council Denise Haye is bringing an action for unfair dismissal, supported by the Christian Legal Centre .

Well I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later. The President of the General Assembly of the United Nations is elected on a regional rotating basis and this year it is the turn of the African group of states. The new President is Ali Abdussalam Treki of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Libya's Minister of African Affairs and the African Union's Envoy to Darfur. One of the journalists at a press conference prior to the opening of the 64th session of the General Assembly asked Treki what he thought of the UN's Declaration for the Universal Decriminalisation of Homosexuality. According to the quote in Pink News, he said: "That matter is very sensitive, very touchy. As a Muslim, I am not in favour of it ... it is not accepted by the majority of countries. My opinion is not in favour of this matter at all. I think it's not really acceptable by our religion, our tradition. “It is not acceptable in the majority of the world. And there are some cou...

Back in May, I wrote about an article in L'Osservatore Romano which was astonishingly favourable to Barack Obama, saying among other things that he is not a pro-abortion president. (See: Criticism of L'Osservatore Romano builds .) Yesterday afternoon's Italian edition continues the trend with an interview with Tony Blair that even the Guardian describes as effusive. A few blogs have picked this up from the Guardian article - including John Smeaton, SPUC Director who gives the list of Tony Blair's anti-life record: voting for abortion up to birth, and personally championing destructive experiments on human embryos to give just two examples. For the full list and other links, see: Vatican newspaper should not have given Tony Blair an easy ride . The Vatican website carries the Italian text of the full interview . I expected that the question of abortion might have been ignored. In fact there is the following scarcely believable exchange ( my translation ): [Giulia Gale...

The recent lecture given by Terry Prendergast to Quest: Family – norms and ideals for a new paradigm(?) , has rightly caused concern among many Catholics. Prendergast is the Chief Executive of Marriage Care , formerly the "Catholic Marriage Advisory Council." Damian Thompson has written a strong critique of the lecture ( What is Archbishop Nichols going to do about Terry Prendergast? ) and Catholic Action UK points to the criteria for entry in the Catholic Directory which seem to have been very clearly breached. (See: Marriage Care head on homosexual unions .) The BBC reports a response from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, quoting as follows: The views expressed by Terry Prendergast about the definition of family and marriage are clearly not a reflection of the Church's teaching, nor those of the Bishops' Conference. although there is, as yet, no notice of this on the CBCEW website - there is nothing at the Press Releases section and a sea...

A practising Catholic mother suffers a breakdown as a result of an abusive marriage. She becomes unable to look after her son who is shortly to make his first Holy Communion. So he is placed into foster care by the Local Authority (Brighton Council) ... ... with a male gay couple. Neil Addison at the Thomas More Legal Centre , has been instructed to represent the mother.

The House of Commons has heard evidence on the Equality Bill yesterday from groups sympathetic to the bill, such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Stonewall, and the British Humanist Association. This Bill will potentially make it illegal for Churches and other Christian groups to refuse to employ practising homosexuals, or "gender reassigned" people except where roles mainly involve teaching, promoting, or leading worship. The explanatory notes to the Bill make it clear that "This exception would not apply to a requirement that a church youth worker or accountant be heterosexual." Practical measures? Make sure that any youthworkers are primarily involved in teaching and "leading worship" (e.g. leading the rosary or other devotional prayers.) Get a volunteer accountant? This Bill, if passed, would prevent many genuinely christian organisations from offering more general youthwork such as sports clubs or social groups. Here are links to yesterda...