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DON’T MISS THE NEXT CHAPTER OF CRISTINA ODONE’S NOVEL ‘THE CHOICE’ PAGE 8

No. 6391

LEANDA DE LISLEON THE MYTH OF LADY JANE GREY

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February 132009£1.20 (Republic of Ireland €1.80)

Search for unity must go on, says Cardinal

BYEDWEST

CARDINAL Cormac MurphyO’Connor told the Church of England’s General Synod this week that the Anglican Communion’s divisions impoverish all Christians. But he insisted that despite recent setbacks Anglicans and Catholics should settle for nothing less than full unity, “even if it takes time”. In the first speech by a senior Catholic prelate to the Synod since Cardinal Basil Hume’s address in 1982, the year Pope John Paul II visited Britain, the Cardinal addressed the sensitive subject of ecumenism. Speaking at Church House, Westminster, Cardinal MurphyO’Connor –who has made ecumenism his life’s work and for many years co-chaired the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) – also called for Christians to unite in an increasingly hostile secular society. His speech addressed as diplomatically as possible the growing ecclesial gulf between Catholicism and Anglicanism caused by women bishops. “The Anglican Church as such is not self-sufficient; it depends on its real, though imperfect communion with other churches,” he said. “And although Catholics believe that the Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church, that very wording implies that the Roman Catholic Church is not totally self-sufficient, and that in the riches and gifts of

other Christian churches are elements that would contribute to its fullness. “Your struggles with issues on communion which deeply affect the unity of the Anglican Communion, affect us all. Divisions within any church or ecclesial community impoverish the communion of the whole Church. “We Roman Catholics cannot be indifferent to what is happening to our friends in the Anglican Communion and, in particular, in the Church of England. “All I can say –and I would not want to be misinterpreted – is that it is only in a fuller and deeper unity that the truth and the demands of the Gospel are to be discerned. In this sense, unity is a prerequisite to truth and you should not settle for less –even if it takes time.” The worldwide Anglican Communion is on the verge of breaking up over the issues of women bishops and the ordination of practising homosexuals. The ordination of women priests, in 1994, was a major setback for those seeking unity with the Catholic Church. However the Cardinal, who is retiring this year, said that they should not give up on the “ultimate goal” of full communion. “We want to see a deepening not a lessening of communion in each other’s ecclesial life. In the end our ecumenical journey has to be a journey towards fuller communion,” he said. “We cannot give up on that ultimate goal even if it still seems so distant. It has to be visible and sacramental communion. We are

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor are pictured at the General Synod PA

Eucharistic communities and the communion we seek is Eucharistic –communion in one Eucharist and in the ministries, faith and authority that make it possible. “Full communion is more than rediscovering a shared history, or fellow-feeling, and it is more than the parallel structures of life and worship that currently exist between us. “For me, it is inspired by words in Pope John Paul’s encyclical on ecumenism, Ut Unum Sint , and also by the experience we have had in meetings between your bishops and ours over the past couple of years –meetings which have expressed friendship, a desire to work together and to acknowledge each other’s gifts.”

The Cardinal, who in December lamented that Britain had become a country hostile to religion, said the two churches must join forces and that “Christianity must not be marginalised from the public life of our country”. “Our two churches, it seems to me, increasingly see that we have to face the challenges of our very secular society together. And underlying all this is the fact that we now experience each other, as I myself have done, as friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, people attempting the same mission of bringing the Gospel to today’s world. I think this is hugely significant and a reason for great hope. “I give thanks to God for all that has enriched my own spiri

tual and ecclesial life through my ecumenical friendships, especially with so many Anglican friends. “One of my greatest memories is the wonderful visit of Pope John Paul to England in 1982. The tears rolled down my face when he visited Canterbury and I thought of the hopes for the future of our two churches.” The Cardinal’s speech was warmly received, although the term “ecclesial community” is controversial. In 2000 the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger sent a note to the heads of bishops’ conferences telling them that they should not use the term “sister churches” when speaking of “the Anglican Communion and nonCatholic ecclesial communities”, as this term was reserved for the

Orthodox and other churches that have preserved a valid episcopate and Eucharist. In the debate after the Cardinal’s speech the Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Tom Wright, said it was “characteristically Anglican” for the Church of England to try to find a way forward with Catholics rather than concentrating on differences. However, later in the debate Professor Marilyn McCord Adams, a canon of Christ Church, Oxford, said a report on Anglican-Catholic relations “soft-pedalled” on the “harsh elements of Roman Catholic piety”, and did not mention that some Anglican provinces have “dared to ordain women”.

Editorial Comment: Page 13

INSIDETHIS WEEK’S ISSUE

NEWS

The English nun who saved Jews from the Nazis P3

COMMENT

Andrew M Brown hails a wonderful children’s Mass P12

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Comment 12-13 Arts & Books14-16 Spiritual Life 17-18 Charterhouse20

Holocaust-denying bishop ‘bore grudge against Marks & Spencer’

BYEDWEST

HOLOCAUST -DENYING Bishop Richard Williamson might have been turned into an antiSemite because Marks & Spencer passed his father over for promotion, according to the family’s former housekeeper. Edna Andrews, 81, who lived with the Williamson family in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, for 20 years, told the Daily Mail that Bishop Williamson may have been influenced by his mother, who believed her

husband was turned down for a boardroom position at the firm because he was a gentile. The Society of St Pius X bishop caused embarrassment to the Vatican when he was shown denying the Holocaust on Swedish television just days before Pope Benedict XVI lifted his excommunication along with the other three SSPX bishops. The Williamsons owned a detached house in the wealthy home counties town, largely thanks to Richard’s mother, an only child and

daughter of a wealthy American manufacturer of bicycle saddles. Williamson senior, a Scottish Anglican, worked in London as chief buyer for Marks & Spencer. However, he was never invited to join the board of directors, and, according to Mrs Andrews, Mrs Williamson “believed this was because he wasn’t a Jew. I never heard Mr Williamson say this, but Mrs Williamson certainly did.” Richard’s elder brother, Harry, joined their father in the firm, but did not prosper

either. “I remember the day Harry came home in a terrible rage, slamming the front door,” said Mrs Andrews. “He’d been overlooked for a promotion he thought he should have got. His mother was in no doubt. She said he hadn’t got it because he was a gentile.” Harry left Marks & Spencer for a job in the City, but his mother remained bitter towards the firm and refused to attend her husband’s leaving party.

SSPX controversy: Page 5

Church promises aid after bush fires

Actor prepares for Catholic wedding

BYSTAFFREPORTER

THEHEAD of the Australian bishops’ conference has promised that the Church will support families affected by a series of bush fires that left more than 180 dead in Victoria state. Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide said: “I know that Catholic parishes across Australia have been praying for the people who died in the

bush fires, as well as for those experiencing the grief of losing loved ones, family homes and cherished pets and belongings. Catholic relief agencies, such as St Vincent de Paul and Centacare, are already at work providing much-needed assistance to people on the ground in these communities. This support will continue over the coming months and years, as we walk with these families and communities in their time of need. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, sent a telegram to Quentin Bryce, governor general of Australia, assuring her of the Pope’s prayers for those affected by the fires.

BYEDWEST

ACTORMARKWAHLBERG has revealed he is to marry long-term partner Rhea Durham in a Catholic ceremony. The 37-year-old star, who has three children with Miss Durham –Ella Rae, five, Michael, two, and four-month-old Brendan Joseph –says the ceremony is likely to happen in August and will “definitely [be] in a Catholic church.” Originally a rapper by

the name of Marky Mark and an underwear model, Wahlberg became a respected actor nominated for an Oscar. He grew up in Massachusetts, the youngest of nine children born to Catholic parents. As a teenager he was in trouble with the law and served 45 days in a borstal for assault and he has credited Catholicism with helping him to turn around his life. He established a youth foundation in 2001 for troubled teens.

Never lose hope

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