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THE INCORRUPTIBLES

CHRISTOPHER HOWSE ON A GREAT CATHOLIC MYSTERY P9

HUGH DAVID THERE ARE TOO MANY SANTAS IN OUR CHURCH SCHOOLS P9

No. 6332

Hospital chiefs resign over code of ethics

BYMARKGREAVES

TWODIRECTORS of a private Catholic hospital have resigned after the board voted to accept a revised code of ethics ordered by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor. Dr Martin Scurr and Lord Mark Fitzalan-Howard, directors at St John and St Elizabeth Hospital in London, said the hospital ought to abandon its Catholic constitution rather than accept the new code. In his resignation letter Dr Scurr said he had “lost trust” with other members of the board and said the Church in Britain needed to withdraw entirely from frontline healthcare because it was not tolerant enough. Lord Bridgeman, the chairman of the board, was expected to offer his own resignation at the end of a board meeting on Wednesday. His departure will force the 10 remaining board members to elect a new chairman. The revised code of ethics, drawn up last year at the request of Cardinal MurphyO’Connor, forbids doctors from referring patients for abortion or providing contraceptives. It means that the hospital will have to abandon plans to lease part of its site to a GP surgery, which would be obliged by its NHS contract to offer contraceptive services. The hospital may also face financial difficulty because the GP surgery would have helped to pay for a new £13 million medical centre open

ing next year. The Cardinal, a patron of the hospital, ordered the code to be revised after it was revealed that doctors had been prescribing the morning-after pill and referring patients for abortions. He had set up an inquiry in 2005 after the Linacre Centre for Healthcare Ethics, which shared the site at the time, raised concerns that some doctors were flouting the existing code. Last month the board finally voted to accept the revised code by five votes to three. Lord Bridgeman, Lord Fitzalan-Howard and Dr Scurr were the three members who opposed the code. Dr Scurr, in his resignation letter to Lord Bridgeman last month, said: “I am convinced that the Cardinal has been badly advised, as so often happens with the Catholic Church. Expert advisers have been chosen who give the hierarchy of the Church the answers they wish to hear and in the matter of modern medical care the Cardinal has chosen to listen to individuals who have no specific expertise in that area. “The damage to the Church will be worse if the hospital closes, unless he chooses to withdraw his patronage.” Dr Scurr, who agreed to suspend his resignation until a board meeting on Wednesday, said he had “no trust” with some of the board members. He accused the five Knights of Malta on the board of forming “a sub

group with a separate agenda”. He also argued that the Church in Britain needed to remove itself from “frontline healthcare”. He said: “We are now in an era where the Catholic Church must withdraw from involvement in frontline healthcare here in the UK, as it appears to be unable to reach the degree of tolerance that has been reached elsewhere in the world.” Dr Scurr, a Catholic GP in Notting Hill, said he had failed to persuade the board of the difficult situation that doctors, “in a secular culture, under the jurisdiction of the General Medical Council”, would face in adhering to the code. He also said he objected to the “vilification” of the hospital’s highly successful management team. Lord Mark, who resigned two weeks after Dr Scurr, described the decision to accept the code as “perverse”. He said he “did not believe that what is being asked of us by the Cardinal is in the best interests of this truly wonderful 150-year-old charity”. He added: “I personally believe an ‘amicable disassociation’ from certain requirements in our constitution is the preferred solution. However, I have also stated that I would not wish to pursue a solution that did not have the approval of the Cardinal.”

Editorial comment: Page 11

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December 14, 2007 £1 (Republic of Ireland €1.50)

Vatican promotes priestly renewal

Eucharistic adoration will help priests to grow in holiness, says the Vatican CNS

BYMARKGREAVES

THE VATICAN has launched a campaign to promote Eucharistic adoration around the world as a way of renewing the priesthood. The Congregation for Clergy issued a directive last week that asked each diocesan bishop to appoint a priest who would work “full-time, as far as possible, to the specific ministry of promoting Eucharistic adoration”. The directive, signed by Cardinal Claudio Hummes, prefect of the congregation, and Archbishop Mauro Piacenza, the secretary, said the drive to promote Eucharistic adoration was “for the reparation of faults and sanctification of priests”. It was intended “to maintain a greater awareness of the ontological link between the Eucharist and the priesthood” and to recognise “the special maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary for each priest”. Although “a great many things are necessary” to address difficulties within the priesthood, the Congregation said that the “departure point [should] be a spiritual endeavour”. The directive proposed establishing specific shrines for continuous Eucharistic adoration, marking particular times and days for adoration, making it a regular part of feast day celebrations and establishing Eucharistic shrines. It said: “Just as there are Marian shrines, with rectors in charge of that particular ministry and suitable for its specific needs, it is also possible to have Eucharistic shrines.” The directive was issued on December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Editorial comment: Page 11

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Tony Blair ‘has no plans’ to convert to Catholicism

Swearing nun shocks pupils

Keep Christ in the Middle East

BYFREDDYGRAY

TONYBLAIRhas no plans to be received into the Catholic Church, according to a soonto-be-published book. John Burton, a good friend and close political ally of Mr Blair –often described as his mentor – is reportedly preparing a biography of the former Prime Minister. The work is said to focus on the former Prime Minister’s faith. Mr Burton, who is widely known as the first man to spot political potential in Tony Blair, is said to have a strong spiritual influence on his prodigy. It was claimed last week that Mr Blair has already told Mr Burton that there is “no point” in becoming a Catholic. The news is expected to come as a relief to many Catholics who expressed horror at the prospect of a Blair conversion, following a report last month in the Tablet, the Catholic weekly magazine. The Tablet’s editor, Catherine Pepinster, said that Cardinal Cormac MurphyO’Connor would soon receive the politician into the Church in a private chapel in Westminster Cathedral.

Tony Blair is said to be happy as an Anglican PA Photos

A number of Catholics reacted with fury, arguing that Mr Blair should not be admitted into the Church without a full and public recantation of his consistent support for abortion, embryonic stem-cell research and the undermining of the traditional family. Mr Blair’s decision to invade Iraq – ignoring the pleas of Pope John Paul II for peace –is another issue over which some Catholics feel Mr Blair should offer public penitence. Professor Jack Scarisbrick, the founder of the pro-life counselling charity Life, said that Mr Blair’s reception into the Church without a public expression of regret for his support for abortion, stemcell research, cloning and gay marriage “would give great scandal to many

Catholics”. “He has done more to de-Christianise this country than any other Prime Minister,” Prof Scarisbrick said. “What he ought to do is publicly state that he was wrong and apologise for the damage he has done. Then he might consider that he must make reparation and become an active member of Life.” However, not all Catholic were so critical of the former Prime Minister. Stephen Pound, a Labour MP, said: “Perhaps Tony isn’t perfect. But there has only ever been one person on this earth who was. If he wants to join the one, true and indivisible Church then we should celebrate the fact.” Mr Blair’s wife, Cherie, and their four children are Catholics.

BYMIGUELCULLEN

ANAMERICANnun has fought fire with fire by reeling off a list of forbidden swear words in an address to schoolchildren. When Sister Kathy Avery of Grosse Point Park, Michigan, felt there was a problem with playground profanities she didn’t hesitate in rounding up children and reading out a toe-curling list of banned swear words. Sister Avery, the new headteacher at St Clare of Montefalco Catholic School, asked students aged 10 to 14 to stay back at the end of Mass. She then informed them that she had a zero tolerance policy for swearing, and read out the list of barred expletives. “It got a little quiet in the church,” Sister Avery said. “Sometimes I think children don’t know what words to use, they use them because they’ve heard them from other people. I think they knew that I drew the line.” Alongside accepted swearwords, Sister Avery has also banned the words “stupid” and “boring”. While some parents were shocked, others applauded. Margaret Roache, chairwoman of the school commission, whose sixth-grade son was there when the list was read, said: “In a way you would think a nun would shy away from something like that, but she’s very open with the children, very clear in her messages.”

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