David Hill My plan to wrap the

Oratory in sound

INTERVIEW, PAGE 7

Mark Dooley I blew the whistle on Irish seminaries

FEATURE, PAGE 8

Anna Arco A radiant Easter with the Pope

CHARTERHOUSE, PAGE 20

No. 6554

New Catholic schools face legal challenge from atheists

BY MADELEINE TEAHAN

A HUMANIST GROUP has said that it will take legal action to prevent the creation of two new Catholic schools in southwest London.

The British Humanist Association (BHA) said it would mount a legal challenge against Richmond Council, following an application by the Diocese of Westminster to build a Catholic primary and secondary school. Richmond is currently one of the few London boroughs without a single Catholic secondary school.

The Diocese of Westminster criticised the action, which will also be brought by the local Richmond Inclusive Schools Campaign (RISC).

In a statement, the diocese said: “The Diocese of Westminster believes that Richmond Council has acted entirely properly in respect of proposals for the establishment of new voluntary-aided Catholic primary and secondary schools in the borough.

“The proposed court case being brought by RISC and the British Humanist Association, a national organisation that campaigns against the existence of all schools with a religious character, seeks to use procedural arguments to prevent an entirely legitimate proposal to increase the educational choices available for parents and children in Richmond.”

The spokesman said that the establishment of the new schools would provide greater diversity of choice in the Richmond area. He continued: “The proposed new schools are also likely to bring additional benefits by releasing places at other local schools which are currently being taken up by those who would prefer a Catholic education.”

“

The British Humanist Association is concerned that religious schools will be opened by the back door

”

For the latest Catholic education news, visit CatholicHerald.co.uk

The BHA argues that if the council ratifies the plans it will be flouting new rules from the Education Act 2011 that state: “If a local authority in England think a new school needs to be established in their area, they must seek proposals for the establishment of an academy [ie a free school]. Proposals are then adjudicated by the Department for Education.”

A statement from the BHA continues: “Richmond Council has been clear that it thinks the borough needs a Catholic secondary school to complement its existing Catholic primaries, and that there is also a need for a new Catholic primary to provide additional places. They say that the Act allows them to go ahead with voluntary-aided Catholic schools without first following the above rule.

“The BHA is concerned that this offers a way of opening religious schools in the face of public opposition by the back door, avoiding the competition that would otherwise be required.”

But Richmond Council said that any legal action by the BHA and RISC was premature. A spokesman for the council said: “In December, the Secretary of State gave permission to the Diocese of Westminster to issue statutory proposals for the establishment of a voluntary-aided secondary school and a voluntary-aided primary school. Following the ‘requisite’ informal consultation, the diocese issued the formal, statutory proposals on March 2 and responses can still be made to the proposals by Friday April 13. The council’s cabinet, in its role as ‘local decision maker,’ is due to consider the proposals and the responses to the proposals at its meeting on May 24.” Editorial Comment: Page 13

CatholicHerald.co.uk

April 20 2012 £1.50 (Republic of Ireland €1.80)

Benedict XVI celebrates his 85th birthday

POPE BENEDICT XVI celebrated his 85th birthday this week with guests who treated him to Bavarian “oompah” music and folk dancing in the Apostolic Palace.

Earlier in the day, in an impromptu homily, the Pope had said: “I find myself on the last stretch of my journey in life, and I don’t know what is awaiting me.

“I know, however, that the light of God exists, that he is risen, that his light is stronger than any darkness and that God’s goodness is stronger than any evil in this world, and this helps me go forward with certainty,” the Pope said.

Full report: Page 6

SSPX and Rome step closer to a reunion BY MARK GREAVES

THE HEAD of the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) has signed a doctrinal preamble set out by the Vatican as a basis for further reconciliation talks, a top Vatican commentator said on Tuesday.

Andrea Tornielli, journalist for the Italian newspaper La Stampa, said Bishop Bernard Fellay had signed the document “with some slight modifications”.

A spokesman for the Vatican confirmed that it had received the response and described it as “encouraging”. Fr Federico Lombardi, according to the Catholic News Service, said the response marked “a step forward”. He said it would be examined “quickly” and passed on to the Pope “within a few weeks”.

Mr Tornielli said that Bishop Fellay’s latest response, delivered to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, had been taken as “positive” and contained merely “nonsubstantial” changes.

The development could pave the way for the SSPX to be made a personal prelature, a non-geographical body like Opus Dei whose leader is appointed by the Pope.

It marks an abrupt turnaround, since last November Bishop Fellay said the preamble needed changes before it could be accepted. A month ago, however, Fr Lombardi said the group’s response was “insufficient” and asked it to clarify its position in order to “avoid an ecclesial rupture with painful and incalculable consequences”.

The preamble, according to the Vatican, “states some doctrinal principles and criteria for the interpretation of Catholic doctrine necessary to guarantee fidelity” to the formal teaching of the Church.

The talks between the traditionalist group and the Vatican began in 2009 in an effort by Pope Benedict XVI to repair a 21-year break.

The break came in 1988 when Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre ordained four bishops against papal orders. The excommunications imposed at the time were lifted by Benedict XVI in 2009.

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Indian girl raised by nuns after being left in a bin is star of film BY MADELEINE TEAHAN

AN INDIAN girl who survived an abortion, was discovered in a hospital dustbin and raised by nuns is the star of a new documentary.

Award-winning director Sibi Yogiyaaveedan documented the dramatic life of 12 year-old Anaamika whom doctors attempted to abort after her parents discovered their unborn baby was a girl.

Anaamika’s mother opted for an abortion by Caesarean section when she was seven months’ pregnant at a private hospital in Rajkot, India. Following the attempted abortion Anaamika was left in a hospital bin and later discovered by cleaners.

Alarmed that the baby was still living, doctors appealed to a convent for help and the baby, still struggling for life, was handed over to the nuns.

The nuns named the baby Anaamika which means “nameless” in Sanskrit and took her to a children’s hospital where she was kept in an incubator for several months.

Now aged 12 Anaamika cannot hear or speak and is expected to be fully blind by the age of 20.

Although Anaamika’s birth parents were thought to be wealthy and educated they decided to abort their daughter as they had had four daughters already.

Mr Yogiyaaveedan received critical acclaim last year for his film about St Alphonsa, a Franciscan religious Sister who was the first person of Indian origin to be canonised.

There have been longstanding reports of sex-selective abortion in India, where boys are reported to significantly outnumber girls as a result.

Research published in the Lancet last year concluded that in India, “selective abortion of girls, especially for pregnancies after a firstborn girl, has increased substantially”.

Cardinal: my gun collection is innocent BY ED WEST

he no longer shoots and only repairs weapons these days.

THE PRESIDENT of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See has defended his passion for guns after the Italian media nicknamed him “Cardinal Rambo”.

Cardinal Domenico Calcagno, who owns at least 13 guns, including a Smith & Wesson 357 Magnum and a Turkish Hatsan shotgun, said

The 68-year-old cardinal, a former professor of theology and Bishop of Savona-Noli until last year, told Il Fatto Quotidiano: “This passion for weapons is long-standing. I used to go to shooting ranges. Unfortunately since I’ve been at the Vatican I had to stop. It’s innocent. What I like above all is repairing weapons.”

Sergeant recalls monk rescuing dog from pit BY NIGEL BURNHAM

MYSTERY surrounds the identity of an intrepid Ampleforth monk remembered fondly this week by a retired North Yorkshire policeman.

David Severs wrote to the Darlington & Stockton Times to tell his story of a monk who rescued a Labrador from the “windy pits” – deep, cavernous holes on the moors near Helmsley. Sgt Severs had asked the caving club at Ampleforth College for help and met the monk, fully robed, at the top of the hole.

“To my astonishment, the monk – who said he had used the same rope on Mont Blanc – descended into the windy pit... the dog duly ascended in a wicker basket with the monk emerging shortly thereafter,” he wrote.

INSIDE

Daniel Kalder The Catholic ‘prophets’ who made children kill PAGE 9

Quentin de la Bédoyère What you need to know about neuroscience PAGE 9

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