POPE TO BRITISH SOCIETY - in brief

Last Sunday: PRIME MINISTER TO POPE BENEDICT: You have offered a message not just to the Catholic Church but to each and every one of us of every faith and none ..., the searching questions that you, your Holiness, have posed to us about our society ... have really challenged the whole country to sit up and think.

SO WHAT WAS THE POPE’S KEY POINT TO OUR CULTURAL LEADERS?:
British culture has many virtues. They are fruits of our deeply ingrained Christian tradition.
So don’t drop these Christian foundations - 20th century has shown that to be dangerous

From his first speech, to the Queen, 16th September
Your forefathers’ respect for truth and justice, for mercy and charity come to you from a faith that remains a mighty force for good in your kingdom, to the great benefit of Christians and non-Christians alike. ... Britain intervened directly to stop the international slave trade ... set new standards in healthcare ... stood against a Nazi tyranny ... forg[ed] the post-war international consensus which ... ushered in a hitherto
unknown period of peace and prosperity in Europe ... [and] helped give birth to a peaceful resolution of the conflict [in Northern Ireland] ... Your Government and people are the shapers of ideas that still have an impact far beyond the British Isles ...

May all Britons continue to live by the values of honesty, respect and fair-mindedness that have won them the esteem and admiration of many [...and ] always maintain ... respect for those traditional values and cultural expressions that more aggressive forms of secularism no longer value or even tolerate. Let not [the UK] obscure the Christian foundation that underpins its freedoms ...

[... let us never forget how the exclusion of God, religion and virtue from public life [in communist states] leads ultimately to a truncated vision of man and of society ...]

From his speech to representatives of British society in Westminster Hall, 17th September
Allow me also to express my esteem for [your] Parliament ... your common law tradition [etc., etc.]

Yet .... if the moral principles underpinning the democratic process are themselves determined by nothing more solid than social consensus, then the fragility of the process becomes all too evident ... [e.g. credit crunch lacked] solid ethical foundations ... the [British-inspired] abolition of the slave trade [did not].

... the role of religion [... is] to help purify and shed light upon the application of reason to the discovery of objective moral principles. ... misuse of reason, after all, was what gave rise to the slave trade in the first place and to many other social evils, not least the totalitarian ideologies of the twentieth century. ...

I cannot but voice my concern at the increasing marginalization of religion, particularly of Christianity ... relegat[ing it] to the purely private sphere ... [such] that Christians in public roles should be required at times to act against their conscience ... and the official teaching of the Church.

Also see over, top right, for some of his Hyde Pk words, especially appropriate to our parishioners.

POPE ON BRITISH SOIL ON BRITISH CULTURE v.2

On Friday Pope Benedict spoke to representatives of British society in Westminster Hall. This is where Thomas More uttered his famous speech after being condemned to a horrible death, which speech is faithfully recorded in the film A Man for All Seasons. The Pope once again acknowledged the great stable democratic traditions of our country which has led us to support free speech, to a certain “moderation” and, for instance, to abolish the slave trade. He thus went on to suggest that “the central question at issue, then, is this: where is the ethical foundation for political choices to be found?”

He pointed out that “If the moral principles underpinning the democratic process are themselves determined by nothing more solid than social consensus, then the fragility of the process becomes all too evident”. He argued that such rationality without an awareness of God as its foundation has led to the “misuse of reason [which] gave rise to the slave trade [...] and to many other social evils, not least the totalitarian ideologies of the twentieth century.”

Reason without religion is irrational. It eventually collapses from not being founded properly. A humanity which does not put God ahead of Self is in real danger.

“I cannot but voice my concern at the increasing marginalization of religion, particularly of Christianity, that is taking place in some quarters, even in nations which place a great emphasis on tolerance. There are those who would advocate that the voice of religion be silenced, or at least relegated to the purely private sphere.” I seems that the nation he had mainly in mind was that whose political and cultural leaders were sitting before him – yes that’s us folks.

Ultimately the British people are being faced this weekend with a choice: which comes first: me or God? Do we want to cultivate the traditional Christian practice of saying ‘no’ to self in order to say ‘yes’ to God with greater power?

Pope Benedict is doing what all Popes have done and have to do. Handing on Jesus’s teaching. This happens to resonate with fashionable opinion less in contemporary Britain than at any other time or place in history. Yet the less this message has influence in our country the greater the rage of country’s opinion formers – as if the latter want, as some have said, to wipe it off the very face of the earth, so they can be free to create their Brave New World without the one coherent remaining opposition, the Catholic Church. A world presumably where the population is kept going more by designer babies than naturally born ones.

Thankfully the British politeness has descended upon the media whilst we have a guest on our soil. Let us enjoy it whilst we can. Without wanting to destroy the calm it might be worth briefly pointing out that recent non-Catholic defences of the Pope against numerous one-sided accusations in TV documentaries and ‘news reports’ include the humanist Brendan O’Neill on Spiked.com on the various key ‘myths’ spun especially by Associated Press, the News Agency which has broken many of the “news” stories against Pope Benedict, and Peter Hitchens in the Daily Mail on Peter Tatchell’s campaigns against any fixed age of consent.

POPE ON BRITISH SOIL ON BRITISH CULTURE

On Friday Pope Benedict spoke to representatives of British society in Westminster Hall. This is where Thomas More uttered his famous speech after being condemned to a horrible death, which speech is faithfully recorded in the film A Man for All Seasons. The Pope once again acknowledged the great stable democratic traditions of our country which has led us to support free speech, to a certain “moderation” and, for instance, to abolish the slave trade. He thus went on to suggest that “the central question at issue, then, is this: where is the ethical foundation for political choices to be found?”

He pointed out that “If the moral principles underpinning the democratic process are themselves determined by nothing more solid than social consensus, then the fragility of the process becomes all too evident”. He argued that such rationality without an awareness of God as its foundation has led to the “misuse of reason [which] gave rise to the slave trade [...] and to many other social evils, not least the totalitarian ideologies of the twentieth century.”

Reason without religion is irrational. It eventually collapses from not being founded properly. A humanity which does not put God ahead of Self is in real danger.

“I cannot but voice my concern at the increasing marginalization of religion, particularly of Christianity, that is taking place in some quarters, even in nations which place a great emphasis on tolerance. There are those who would advocate that the voice of religion be silenced, or at least relegated to the purely private sphere.” I seems that the nation he had mainly in mind was that whose political and cultural leaders were sitting before him – yes that’s us folks.

Ultimately the British people are being faced this weekend with a choice: which comes first: me or God? Do we want to cultivate the traditional Christian practice of saying ‘no’ to self in order to say ‘yes’ to God with greater power?

Pope Benedict is doing what all Popes have done and have to do. Handing on Jesus’s teaching. This happens to resonate with fashionable opinion less in contemporary Britain than at any other time or place in history. Yet the less this message has influence in our country the greater the rage of our opinion formers – as if the latter want, as some have said, to wipe the Catholic Church off the very face of the earth, so they can be free to create their Brave New World without the one remaining coherent opposition.

BUDDING HOPES AND SUDDEN STORMS

Next Sunday Pope Benedict will beatify John Henry Cardinal Newman in Birmingham. A unique and significant moment for the Church in these islands as the authority of Peter is invoked to proclaim the heroic virtue of a truly great Englishman and the fruitfulness of devotion to him.

That evening the Pope will have his parting words with the Bishops of England and Wales in the chapel at Oscott College. This is where over 150 years ago Newman celebrated the re-establishment of the Catholic hierarchy in this country with his famous "Second Spring" sermon. The image and hope of a “Second Spring” for the British Church was though not just an image of joyful return, but also a premonition that it might be an

"... English Spring, an uncertain, anxious time of hope and fear, of joy and suffering, - of bright promise and budding hopes, yet withal, of keen blasts, and cold showers, and sudden storms."

He warned that
"... in proportion to God's grace is the fury of His enemies ... [but] the more the enemy rages against us, so much the more will the Saints in Heaven plead for us."

He would have understood from his deep knowledge of history that the most painful persecutions of the Church come from failures and betrayals within, as Pope Benedict pointedly observed in Fatima recently. Newman would also have understood how eagerly the enemies of truth seize on the sins of Christians and use them as a stick to beat the poor Body of Christ. The precise form of attack is different in every generation however, so we are ever unprepared for the dismay & heart-ache caused. Yet the grace given to meet each crisis is equally unexpected & even more powerful.

Let us pray with confidence for great gifts for our own community through the Papal Visit and, not least for humility, wisdom and courage in healing those effected by sins of people in the Church and defending Christ in the Church against the “rages” that are coming our way.

One helpful response to Channel 4 documentary (“The Trouble with the Pope”) by Peter Tatchell (who campaigns against any fixed age of consent) is on the internet here: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100052875/peter-tatchells-channel-4-hatchet-job-on-the-pope-is-so-crude-that-it-misses-its-target/

Watch this space for further responses to further attacks –e.g. the BBC’s upcoming Panorama – as well as to other upcoming documentaries: the BBC's Trials of a pope (BBC2) & ITV1’s Tonight: Keeping the Faith? Questions can also be asked through websites such as Catholic Answers or faith.org.uk

EXPECTATION: September 10th-12th

EXPECTATION: September 10th-12th

A Mission in anticipation
of the Visit of our Holy Father the Pope,
and of accompanying graces of God.

We are running this mission with the help of some Italian young adults from the Neo-Catechumenal Way, the community of Mother Teresa sisters, and our own Post Confirmation Youth Group and Prayer and Play group. Other parishioners will be, and can volunteer to be, involved with helping.
The purpose of the mission is to reach out to the local community (and to those engaged in the reaching out) in trust that the Holy Spirit will be offering significant graces at the time of the Papal Visit and through our prayers. We hope to make the local community more aware of Christ, the Pope’s visit and the reason for it. They will be invited to an evening of prayer, worship and talks on Saturday 11th September, and to some follow-up talks.


Friday - 6.30pm – Mass (Church)
9.00pm – Night Prayer (Church)

Saturday - 10.00am – Mass – with commissioning of missioners
10.30am – Process to Willesden Green library. Time of prayer, dance music and
witness, inviting people to come to our Church during the evening.
11.30/12.00pm – Move on to Sainsbury’s
2.30pm – Service Project. A soup kitchen at the Annexe.
8.00pm – Main service: Priests and other presenting brief talks between live
music and also available for prayer/confession/chat. Exposition in the Lady
chapel.
10.00pm – 15-30mins of Adoration and Benediction.

Sunday – Witnesses after all Masses.
2.00pm – Open afternoon at Clergy House.

1st Friday Holy hour on 3rd Sep, 7 pm, was to pray for this intention.