WHO WILL CATHOLICS BACK? FREDDY GRAY ON THE US ELECTIONS

No. 6340 www.catholicherald.co.uk

Cardinal says multiculturalism has weakened British society

February 15, 2008 £1 (Republic of Ireland €1.50)

ALSO IN THIS WEEK’SISSUE

BYMARKGREAVES

CARDINAL CORMAC MurphyO’Connor has signalled a change of direction for the Church in England and Wales with an outspoken attack on the ideology of multiculturalism. The Cardinal said efforts to create a multicultural society had led to a “lessening of the kinds of unity that a country needs”. He made his comments after Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said that Britain needed to accommodate religious legal codes, such as Islamic Sharia law, in order to achieve community cohesion. The Anglican leader told the BBC that the adoption of some aspects of the Sharia in Britain “seems unavoidable”. He faced a storm of protest after the remark and was forced to fight off calls for his resignation from several members of the General Synod. The Cardinal intervened in the debate to say that migrants should embrace the idea of equality under the law rather than live by other legal codes. “I don’t believe in a multicultural society,” he told the Sunday Telegraph. “When people come into this country they have to obey the laws of the land. There are going to be certain things which might clash in the overall culture of the country. That’s where one has to make a judgment. “There are aspects of Sharia that are practised that we certainly wouldn’t want in this country. The laws of this country don’t allow forced marriages or polygamy. It seems to me a government and a country has a right

to make sure that those laws are kept. “It is not enough for people to live within their own cultures and then say: ‘We’ll live within the freedoms that are given in this country within a totally separate culture.’ “Of course you can keep the variety of traditions, but when you enter this country there are common values which are part of its heritage, which should be embraced by everybody.” The Cardinal, one of six children of Irish immigrants, said it would be better if Muslims contributed beyond their own families to the common good, saying they would then “become a normal part of this country and, indeed, cherish those values that should be common to everyone”. His comments come just months after he expressed fears that Polish migrants could create “a separate church” in Britain. He said Poles should enter Catholic life in Britain and join Englishspeaking parishes as soon as they learned the language. The Cardinal’s forthright views are likely to place him at odds with elements of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, which has traditionally been seen as sympathetic to multiculturalism. The Catholic Association for Racial Justice, an agency of the bishops’ conference, issued a charter in 2003 for “a truly inclusive Church” where differences were valued and diversity was celebrated. It said that seminary training should include “multicultural formation” to help priests cope with ethnically diverse parishes.

The document was drawn up by delegates at a three-day congress which had been organised by the agency. The congress was attended by Baroness Patricia Scotland, then a minister in the Home Office, Diana Hayes, an American theologian, and about a dozen bishops. The Cardinal gave a short opening address and celebrated Mass. Clifford Longley, a Catholic commentator, said he believed the Cardinal’s latest comments represented an “adjustment” in his thinking. The Cardinal’s approach to the subject, he said, had been shaped by “the experience of the Irish community in which he grew up”. He said: “He’s very much assimilated into English culture and he expects a similar thing to happen to later generations of immigrants. “He believes that on a generational scale the differences will diminish and we must not prolong them beyond their natural life,” said Mr Longley. Robert Whelan, deputy director of Civitas, an independent think-tank, said the Cardinal had shown that it was no longer taboo to criticise multiculturalism. He said: “Privately people have had doubts for years but now there has been a change in the climate and public figures are prepared to admit that multiculturalism doesn’t work. “For a long time people felt they had to be in favour of it –to be against it was like being a Holocaust denier.”

Editorial comment: Page 11

Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor, above, believes in the principle of equality under the law

NEWS

The Knights of Malta mourn Fra’ Andrew Bertie

INTERVIEW

Bruce Kent on the 50th anniversary of the CND

INDEX

News2-5 Catholic Life6 Interview7 Features 8-9 Comment10

Letters11 Arts12 Books13 Scripture14 Charterhouse16

New book by Aidan Nichols OP

The Realm An Unfashionable Essay on the Conversion of England

Aidan Nichols tackles the current issues of church and state, religion and society, and what mission might mean today. He argues that any hope of converting our increasingly secular society has to be led and underpinned by a profound change in our culture.

This is about more than art and literature; it encompasses every aspect of our lives and our country, from individual virtue to public law. Nichols calls for the recovery of a distinct

seeks to provide a common purpose for the

into the wider secular culture. He describes how Catholic Christianity provides the best foundation for the culture of an England remade. A challenging and compelling essay.

Family Publications Paperback 160 pp £8.95

For your copy of The Realm please send a cheque to: Family Publications 6a King Street, Oxford OX2 6DF or phone 0845 0500 879 or e-mail sales@familypublications.co.uk or online www.familypublications.co.uk Credit cards accepted (except Amex) Postage: 1 book – add £2. 2 books or more – add £4.

Augustinian friar appointed as coadjutor Bishop of Lancaster

BYANNAARCO

A NEW BISHOP has been appointed alongside Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue in the Diocese of Lancaster. Augustinian friar Fr Michael Campbell was named as coadjutor Bishop of Lancaster last Friday. The position will give him the right of succession at the retirement of Bishop O’Donoghue in 2009 when he turns 75. Bishop O’Donoghue welcomed the news of Fr Campbell’s appointment and said he was “absolutely delighted” to be able to welcome Bishop-elect Campbell to the diocese.

“How wonderful it is that, after many months of consultation, an appointment has been made of someone who is already known by many people in the diocese since he worked here previously,” said Bishop O’Donoghue. “I am delighted that Pope Benedict acceded to my request for a coadjutor and very much look forward to welcoming Bishop Campbell in person and to work with him in the ongoing task of evangelisation. The Diocese of Lancaster has a proud and rich heritage of Martyrs –of witnesses to the Gospel –this work we proudly continue today. We are very blessed to have been sent this man of

prayer and learning to help the diocese become still more ‘Fit for Mission’.” Ordained a priest in the chapel of the Austin Friars School in Carlisle, Cumbria, in 1971, Fr Campbell taught in Christ the King School in Southport until 1975. He then moved to London, where he was prior of St Monica’s Priory in Hoxton and teacherchaplain to the Bishop Challoner Girls School until 1985. From 1985 and 1989 he taught Sacred Scripture at a seminary in Nigeria before returning to Austin Friars where he became Episcopal Vicar to the religious in Lancaster diocese until 1999. Since then he has been Prior

at St Augustine’s Priory in Hammersmith. He has written Mary, Woman of Prayer,a book meditating on the Mysteries of the Rosary. The date of the episcopal ordination of Fr Campbell, 66, has not yet been confirmed. The Order of St Augustine draws on the rule and teachings of St Augustine. It was founded in two stages in 1244 and 1256 when groups of religious living in Tuscany united to form the order. Famous Augustinians include Desiderius Erasmus, the humanist scholar and friend of St Thomas More, Martin Luther and Gregor Mendel, the geneticist.

La Sapienza row triggeredby mistake on Wikipedia

Papal perfume is not to be sniffed at

BYEDWEST

LASTMONTH’Sprotest by staff and students at La Sapienza University was a result of a mistake on a leading internet site, according to the Vatican’s daily newspaper. L’Osservatore Romano

claims that the protest was caused by an inaccuracy on Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia written by members of the public. “In the name of liberty and the investigation of science, they have taken as true a falsehood, accepting an affirmation without proving its credibility,” the newspaper said. “What is surprising is that the person who copied the citation could not have read the complete Wikipedia entry, which enables one to realise that the meaning of Ratzinger’s phrase is exactly

the opposite to what the 67 professors have aimed to attribute to the Pope.” Pope Benedict XVI cancelled his planned visit to the ancient university after hundreds of teachers and students protested at what they described as his “hostility to science”. The protest was held partly over a speech that the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger gave in 1990, in which the protesters wrongly claimed he defended the Church’s mistreatment of 17th-century scientist Galileo Galilei.

A leading perfume critic has heaped praise on the Pope’s Cologne, a scent based on the private formula of Pope Pius IX. MarieHelene Wagner said the scent had an ‘ancient charm’.

Pakistan: Don’tforgetthemnow Livingintheshadowofphysicaland verbalattacks,Pakistan’sChristiansare underthreatfromthegrowingunrestand extremism.Despitesignsofhopewith inter-faithmeetings,the faithfulstruggle forfreedom.

Onepriesttold AidtotheChurch inNeed:“Evenin thistimeof persecution,our churchesarefull. Yoursupport is helpingChristians tosurvivehere.”

Pleasedon’t forgetthemnow.

SUFFERING:Sister Nasemandfriendsata Church-runhomeless centre, animportant inter-faithinitiative.

PDF08/CHA

AidtotheChurchinNeed

12-14Benhill Avenue, Sutton, SurreySM14DA.

02086428668acn@acnuk.orgwww.acnuk.org

RegisteredwiththeCharityCommissionNo. 1097984

Rev/Sr/Mr/Mrs/Miss..............................................

Address:..................................................................

.............................................. Postcode:..................

Ienclose£.......... £100 £50 £25 Other tohelpsufferingChristiansinPakistan. Ienclose achequetoAidtotheChurchinNeed OR please debitmyVISA/MasterCard/Amex/Maestro

________ ________ ________ ________ ____

Signaturestripcode(lastblockofdigits):______

ExpiryDate:....../...... ValidFromDate:....../......

IssueNo:...... (Maestro) Signature:.............................. IdonotwishtoreceiveinformationaboutAidtotheChurchinNeed