THE CATHOLIC HERALD JUNE 24 2011

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Conference cancelled following criticism of speakers

BY MARK GREAVES

A CATHOLIC conference was cancelled last week because of controversy over guest speakers who had been arranged after a senior Vatican cardinal pulled out.

The event, organised by the group Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, was scheduled for Saturday but was cancelled by the Methodist conference centre only days beforehand.

At least one Catholic had phoned the Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, to raise concerns about speakers booked at the last minute following Cardinal Raymond Burke’s unexpected withdrawal.

One speaker, Robert Sungenis, a US Catholic apologist, has disputed the evidence that six million people died in the Holocaust. The other, Fr Paul Kramer, a retired priest based in London, has reportedly said that Vatican II liturgical reforms were part of a plot by Freemasons. He also appears to believe that the Third Secret of Fatima was suppressed by the Vatican.

Daphne McLeod, chairman of Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, said both speakers had promised they would not touch on anything controversial.

She said after the cancellation of Cardinal Burke she had “rang round frantically for several days” until Fr Kramer and Mr Sungenis

Archbishop Stack is installed in Cardiff agreed to fill in. She said: “I explained to both at some length that we are not a pressure organisation in any sense – we only aim to get children taught the faith more effectively. None of the dozens of talks given at our [Methodist] Central Hall conferences over the last 15 years have been in the least controversial.”

She said Mr Sungenis was going to talk about Christ’s life in the New Testament and Fr Kramer was to address the message of Our Lady at Fatima – “but not pushing the Third Secret”.

She explained that she went to Methodist Central Hall on Saturday to explain what had happened to 20

or so people who had not heard about the cancellation. Several hundred people were expected to attend the conference, an annual event since the 1990s.

Mrs McLeod is likely to lose about £3,000 in advertising, printing and postage costs, but not the £4,000 booking fee, which the centre will refund in full.

Methodist ministers said the conference was cancelled because they could not ensure that it “would be in accord with Methodist and mainstream Catholic teaching”.

The Rev Tim Swindell, executive chairman of the centre, said: “It is a Methodist church as well as a conference centre, so while we try to be generous in terms of the events we hold, nevertheless we need to maintain propriety and [ensure] nothing is preached that we may be concerned about.”

Meanwhile, the Rev Martin Turner, superintendent minister, said he made the decision to cancel the booking despite “a considerable loss of income” to the centre.

He wrote in an email: “When this booking came in I made inquiries – the then main speaker was a cardinal... When the programme and speakers changed we again, acting responsibly as we always do, checked as to what might be said, and as a result decided that it was not appropriate

BY ED WEST

ARCHBISHOP George Stack of Cardiff has called for Catholics to challenge “the structures of injustice” in society.

At an installation Mass at Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral the former Auxilliary Bishop of Westminster, said that “one of the greatest Christian virtues is hope... a living faith that even in turmoil and confusion there is a meaning and a purpose to existence which cannot be fully explained in the here and now, a conviction that nothing is wasted in the sight of God.”

The archbishop gave a summary of his homily in Welsh, which was received with loud applause by the congregation.

He also echoed Archbishop Vincent Nichols’s call for a renewed commitment to the “common good” and for Catholics to work harder to get their message across in the society at large.

“Pope Benedict XVI gave us an inspirational example in his speech at Westminster Hall when he explored the essential partnership between faith and reason.” he said. “He set out a path to help us navigate the social, economic and financial crises being faced by the western world. Whilst continuing to care for those who are poor in any way, and the support of the alienated and dispossessed, we must also have the courage to challenge those structures of injustice which deprive people of the ‘tools for conviviality’ which are essential if every person is to make a proper contribution to a civilised society.

“Perhaps we do not articulate our passion and compassion for the Common Good as well as we could. Perhaps we are misunderstood when we seek to contribute to the public discourse to the ‘civilisation of love’ spoken of by Pope Paul VI. Perhaps the role of faith in re-forming our varied communities is sometimes distorted or deliberately misunderstood.”

The seventh Archbishop of Cardiff was born in Cork in 1946 and attended school in north London, and was ordained in 1972. In 1990 he was appointed vicar general for Clergy in Westminster Diocese. He was responsible for pastoral care in Hertfordshire and in education.

He said at the installation that living in St Albans he was inspired by the third century martyr after whom it was named.

Pointing out that martyr means witness, he added: “Bearing witness to something greater than ourselves has always been a challenge. It is a demanding, challenging and difficult thing to do both personally and also as a community of faith which is the Church. We seek to bear witness to the truth about the human Archbishop George Stack leaves Cardiff cathedral after his installation Mazur/catholicchurch.org.uk to continue with the booking. Although this represented a considerable loss of income we followed our usual practice of putting conscience first,” he said.

The original main speaker, Cardinal Burke, cancelled unexpectedly just two weeks before the conference. He was scheduled to give a talk on the restoration of Church discipline and evangelisation.

He explained in a letter to Mrs McLeod that his speaking at the conference was being construed as a “direct criticism” of the bishops of England and Wales. He wrote: “It is not right for me to give a presentation in any place which in any way would reflect the lack of respect for the office of bishop in that place.”

Robert Ian Williams, a Catholic who contacted Methodist Central Hall last week, said Pro Ecclesia’s choice of speakers was “disturbing”, and that there were “serious questions” to be asked about the direction of the group.

He wrote: “I am not proud of my actions but I believe I acted honourably, and for the best interests of the Catholic Church, Westminster Central Hall, and the authentic message of our Lady of Fatima.” Letter to the Editor: Page 13 Charterhouse: Page 20

Nick Clegg may send sons to top Catholic school BY MARK GREAVES

NICK CLEGG, the Deputy Prime Minister, is reportedly seeking to send his three sons to a top Catholic state school despite his party’s pre-election pledge to dismantle the faith school system.

Mr Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, was accused of “rank hypocrisy” after taking a tour of the London Oratory school in Chelsea, south-west London.

He and his wife, Miriam González Durántez, who is Catholic, live closer to several other schools, including a Catholic school, in Putney, but may try to enrol their children at the London Oratory instead. He defended he and his wife’s interest last week, saying that even though he was atheist, his children were being raised as Catholics.

Mr Clegg said: “”My kids are more precious to me than anything else in the world and the fact [is] that my wife is Catholic, I married in the Catholic Church and my children have been brought up by Catholics and go to a Catholic state primary school.

“It therefore shouldn’t be entirely surprising that maybe, just maybe, my wife might consider, we might consider as parents sending our children on to a state-funded Catholic secondary school.”

Mr Clegg’s interest in the London Oratory follows a Lib Dem manifesto last year that promised to stop Catholic, Anglican and Jewish schools from selecting pupils on the grounds of faith.

The policy was strongly criticised by Bishop Malcolm McMahon of Nottingham, who said at the time that Catholics should think seriously before voting Lib Dem.

The manifesto stated: “We will ensure that all faith schools develop an inclusive admissions policy and end unfair discrimination on grounds of faith.”

Bishop McMahon, chairman of the bishops’ conference Department for Education, said the policy undermined an agreement between Church and state enshrined in the 1944 Education Act.

The Lib Dems, he said, were “looking at changing the fundamentals of education policy, which is going to be very damaging for the Catholic Church”.

The London Oratory, where Tony Blair sent his children, is one of the top-rated comprehensive schools in the country. Earlier this year it amended its admissions policy so that, from September next year, parents of prospective pupils can be asked about their involvement in parish life. It is expected to convert to academy status later this year. Keith Porteous Wood, of the National Secular Society, accused Mr Clegg of hypocrisy.

He said: “As his wife Miriam is a Catholic it is understandable they would want a Catholic school. But he should not haul his children across London to go to the best. It reeks of elitism and goes against just about everything he has said about faith schools.”

Help us build a better future for disadvantaged children living in poverty in the

Diocese of Westminster.

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