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THE LOST CATHEDRAL OF WESTMINSTER

FEATURE, PAGE 9

ANTONIO ROSMINI HE WAS ONCE ON THE INDEX. NOW HE WILL BE BEATIFIED PAGE 8

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November 16, 2007 £1 (Republic of Ireland €1.50)

Bishop backs the legalisation of prostitution

Bishop Hollis calls for ‘realistic’ approach He does not condone prostitution in any way

BYEDWEST

THEBISHOPof Portsmouth has issued a controversial appeal for the legalisation of brothels. Bishop Crispian Hollis said that he supported the introduction of licensed brothels, an idea initially put forward by the Hampshire Women’s Institute. “If you are going to take a pragmatic view and say prostitution happens, I think there is a need to make sure it’s as well regulated as possible for the health of people involved and for the safety of the ladies themselves,” the bishop said. The British sex industry has grown enormously since the fall of Communism and the admission of 10 eastern European nations to the EU. In Britain the number of brothels has vastly increased, expanding from big cities and ports into rural areas like Cambridgeshire, which now has up to 100. And while trafficked women from eastern Europe and Asia work in the brothels, rising levels of heroin and crack cocaine addiction have increased the trade on the streets. Bishop Hollis told the Portsmouth News that his view was pragmatic. He said: “That’s not to say I approve of prostitution in any way. I would be very much happier

if there was no prostitution in Portsmouth. But it’s going to be there whatever we do and it has been from time immemorial. So I think that is something we have to be realistic about.” However, the bishop’s comments have drawn criticism from some Catholics. Former Tory frontbencher Ann Widdecombe said: “He is not being realistic. Ninetyfive per cent of all street prostitutes are addicted to Class A drugs. That trade will go on as far as people are addicted. That is the first thing. “The second thing is, do you want a brothel next door to you? If you don’t want your daughter to be a prostitute, don’t ask anyone else’s daughter to be one. Do you really think the women being trafficked will be regulated and pay National Insurance?” A spokeswoman for the National Board of Catholic Women, an advisory group to the bishops’ conference, said the group also opposed the idea. She reiterated the statement that its former president Dr Mary McHugh sent to Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott earlier this year. “We are not in favour of managed or tolerated areas where crime seems then to concentrate and becomes accepted and not challenged,” said Dr McHugh.

“We want the men to be challenged and prosecuted, including the users who knowingly buy sex from foreign, underage and possibly trafficked women. “We would consider the licensing of brothels to be no guarantee that organised criminal trafficking syndicates would not be running them, hiding behind an aura of legality. Mandatory health checks for sex workers would probably be counterproductive, creating a two-tier system where the most vulnerable, the street sex workers, would not be included anyway. “Murdered women would probably not have been protected by any of these initiatives. Society should be concentrating on helping to prevent young women from entering prostitution through education, removal of poverty and drug rehabilitation, prosecuting and removing the male demand, and providing resources to enable women to exit and regain dignity in their lives. “Legalising it sends out wrong messages that it is an acceptable way of earning a living. Prostitution remains largely the exploitation of women by men.” Continued on Page Two

Editorial comment: Page 11

Archbishop Tutu makes his acceptance speech with the Cardinal at his side

Desmond Tutu wins award for theology

BYMARKGREAVES

CARDINAL Cormac MurphyO’Connor gave an award to Archbishop Desmond Tutu at Westminster Cathedral last week to celebrate his work as a theologian and Christian leader. He presented the archbishop with an Honorary Fellowship of the Guild of Church Musicians at a ceremony last Wednesday. The Anglican prelate will add the fellowship to the 180 awards he has already received, including his 1984 Nobel Prize. Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor, a patron of the guild, told the archbishop: “You have received many awards in your life, but this is an important one, too. It is good that the harmony of peace and reconciliation in your life is being recognised.” Archbishop Tutu expressed thanks to all those who had helped him in his work as a theologian and as a Christian leader, particularly the past Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Robert Runcie. “Fortunately, [the award] is not for my musical ability so much as I suppose the fact that I can pass off for a theologian,” he explained. “It is not that I cannot sing a note, what I cannot do is read music,” he said during the ceremony. He paid tribute to all who had helped in the anti-apartheid struggle. “The Church worldwide needed that leadership and now today we are free,” he said. He also went on to say: “I pray that God will pour abundant blessings on the Guild of Church Musicians, especially for next year when you celebrate your 120th anniversary. What a glorious achievement that will be and we should all be saying thanks be to God.”

CATHOLICLIFE

The Passage

Cardinal dazzles at A Night Under the Stars p6

FEATURES

Robert Gray Why King Philip II was no religious fanatic p8

COMMENT

Fr Anthony Symondson The great legacy of Pedro Arrupe p10

NEWS

1-5

FEATURES 7-9 COMMENT 10-11 ARTS 12 CHARTERHOUSE 16

Cardinal: bishops must be consulted over Mass

Archbishop’s joy at Games triumph

Keep Christ in the Middle East

BYFREDDYGRAY

CARDINAL Cormac MurphyO’Connor has insisted that “bishops must be consulted” before a priest can begin celebrating a traditional Mass regularly in his diocese. When Summorum Pontificum, Benedict XVI’s Apostolic Letter, was published in July, it was widely thought that the Pope had removed the rule that a priest needs permission from his bishop to celebrate Mass in the traditional, “extraordinary” form. But the Church hierarchy in England and Wales has rejected this idea. Several senior bishops, now joined by the Archbishop of Westminster, have written to their priests explaining that traditional Masses still cannot be celebrated in their dioceses without their knowledge. In an ad clerumto the priests of Westminster archdiocese, Cardinal MurphyO’Connor wrote: “Where there is a request for a regular celebration [of the traditional Mass], the bishop or the auxiliary bishop must be consulted. “Under the guidance of the bishop, there is a need to ensure that the welfare of the

The Pope has relaxed restrictions on the 1962 Mass

[traditionalist] group harmonises with the ordinary pastoral care of the parish and that any discord is avoided.” The Cardinal said that the Pope’s “primary purpose” in issuing the Motu Proprio was “to restore unity within the Church –both to enable those who truly desire unity to remain in that unity and to offer those who have not yet accepted the liturgical reforms and teachings of the Second Vatican Council a way back to full communion with the Church.” Traditionalists argue that this response misses the point of the Motu Proprio, which they claim was designed to radically reform the way Catholics worship. Fr John Zuhlsdorf, the leading conservative blogger, described the Cardinal’s interpretation

of the document as “narrow and inaccurate”. He said: “This does not take into account those who have no difficulty with unity but who merely desire the older form of Mass for the good of their souls. “From the onset, therefore, the writer seeks to frame the whole issue as a matter of people who are on the edge of unity with the Church. And he seems to want you to think that that is the Pope’s view also. It isn’t.” The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei is understood to be preparing a document to clear up misunderstandings of Summorum Pontificum. John Medlin, general manager of the Latin Mass... Continued on Page Two

Editorial comment: Page 11

BYFREDDYGRAY

ARCHBISHOP Mario Conti of Glasgow has expressed his joy that his city has been chosen to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Commonwealth nations voted to award Glasgow the Games over the Nigerian capital Abuja by 47 votes to 24, following a ceremony in Sri Lanka on Friday. Archbishop Conti described the committee’s decision as “great news for Glasgow and for Scotland”. He said: “The positive impact of bringing such a great international festival of sport to the banks of the Clyde is hard to overestimate. This news will mean new opportunities for investing in facilities, but more importantly in people, and will play an important role in transcending the material, social and spiritual poverty which still blights the lives of too many of the people of this area. “I congratulate the city council for having the ambition and skill to bring the Games to Glasgow and the Scottish Government for its energetic support of Glasgow’s bid.” First Minister Alex Salmond, who returned from Sri Lanka with the bid team this week, said: “This has been a tremendous achievement.” He said Glasgow now had to work at a “cracking pace” to deliver the greatest ever Commonwealth Games.

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