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OCTOBER 7 2011 THE CATHOLIC HERALD

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Cardinal: ordinariate in the US is imminent

BY LIZ LEYDON

AN ORDINARIATE is close to being established in the American, Cardinal Donald Wuerl said during his visit to Scotland last week.

As Vatican delegate for the US ordinariate Cardinal Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, said he had been watching developments in Britain with great interest and was confident that the establishment of the US ordinariate was imminent this autumn.

The cardinal also said that discussions with the Episcopal Church had included plans for the transfer of property.

He told the Scottish Catholic Observer: “I am hoping that it will happen in this calendar year that an ordinariate will be announced,” The cardinal was visiting Stirling to address the National Conference of Priests and Permanent Deacons of Scotland. “There will be a time lag between the Holy See announcing that it intends to establish an ordinariate and the actual date of its implementation but I am still hopeful that before this year is out an US ordinariate will be established she said.

“We are moving forward with the examination of the cases of at least 100 clergy and several thousand Anglicans who want to come into the Catholic Church as groups. In two weeks’ time I will be receiving an entire parish into the Church and confirming around 120 people. This is being done in anticipation of the ordinariate.”

A great deal of work has already been done on the US ordinariate, he said.

“We have had wonderful accord between the Episcopal diocese of Washington, and its bishop, and our archdiocese,” he said.

Cardinal Wuerl, who before last week had not visited Scotland since he was a student, said he saw parallels between the issues British Catholics are facing and those in his own Archdiocese of Washington DC. When asked for his advice on opposing same-sex marriage and protecting Catholic adoption agencies, issues he has championed, he said: “There is a need to sustain the Church’s religious liberty no matter what civil law chooses to enact. Catholics, people of any religion, must be free to exercise their conscience.”

The cardinal said there was an acute need for Catholics in Britain, as in America to be “missionaries in our own countries”.

Cardinal Wuerl, the Vatican delegate for the US ordinariate, visited Scotland last week

He said Catholics had to recognise “that we do have a significant number of people right close at home who have drifted away from the faith”.

“They should be the object of our efforts, our missionary efforts, our outreach, our evangelisation efforts,” he said.

“We have to recognise that the whole atmosphere around us is secular and heavily materialistic,” he said. “The New Evangelisation is all about recalling for people the spiritual dimension to their existence. Each one of us is called to a relationship with God. Each one of us is invited to encounter the Risen Lord. It is precisely in that relationship with God that we find our true meaning and joy and the goal of life.”

The cardinal added: “I think this is a whole new moment in the life of the Church. There is a generation coming along that realises there is something missing, that the secular and the material cannot answer every question. And so this is our time to tell them all over again about Jesus.”

The cardinal said that Pope Benedict XVI, who established a Pontifical Council for the New Evangelisation, had called on Catholics to “repropose” the faith. It is a message, he said, that the Holy Father underlined during his visits to Britain and Germany.

“At the heart of the New Evangelisation is the need for each one of us believers to renew and deepen our own faith so that we are confident enough to share it with others,” he said.

Cardinal Wuerl said that part of the challenge of the New Evangelisation was to close the gap between faith and reason that has emerged in secular society and which limits “the whole richness the spiritual dimension of our life

CNS photo brings”. “There is a need for more than just the physical science to answer the great questions of life,” he said. “How shall I live? What are the values that should motivate my life? these are not answerable from the physical sciences.”

The cardinal, chairman of the board of directors of the National Catholic Educational Association in America, also said that adult faith foundation “really is and has to be a focus in the Church today” and that the RCIA was “great tool” in bringing people to an adult understanding of the Catholic faith.

Pro-lifers begin prayer campaign outside clinic

BY MADELEINE TEAHAN

The 40 Days for Life campaign began its second phase last Thursday as activists seek to bring an end to abortion in Britain.

Forty Days for Life is renowned for its tactic of praying outside abortion clinics to bear witness to the tragedy of abortion and to prompt women to reconsider their decision before entering the abortion clinic.

Pro-life activists have been praying outside the

British Pregnancy Advisory Service in Bedford Square, central London, since Thursday last week and will continue until November 6.

Campaign organiser Dan Blackman said: “Department of Health statistics reveal 198,500 unborn children killed in 2010. At this rate, a leading pro-life organisation has estimated that an estimated total of nine million unborn children will have been killed by 2018. The killing has to stop.

“Abortion is a silent genocide. We seek to promote a growing awareness of the beauty and marvels of unborn life and expose the inner workings of the abortion industry. The new generation of human rights campaigners is here: we’re committed and organised on the front foot.”

But pro-abortion campaigners have sought to counter the campaign the second time round with “40 Days of Treats”. For every day of prayer vigils outside

BPAS’s clinics, pro-abortion activists are providing abortionists and other staff at the clinic with sweet snacks to offer moral support.

The 40 Days for Life campaign has received support from both men and women. Maria Luisa MacDonald, a young Catholic, described the campaign as “a wonderful opportunity both to give witness to the humanity of some of the most vulnerable members of society and also to offer real, concrete help to women in crisis pregnancies who feel that they have no hope”.

The campaign in London was first launched in September 2010. In the space of a year, prayer vigils have spread to Birmingham, Manchester, Cheltenham, Leeds and Torquay as campaigners seek to be more active in bringing an end to abortion using peaceful, prayerful methods.

The campaign originated in America and is organised in unity with 301 cities worldwide, including in Canada, Australia, Northern Ireland and Denmark. To date, 16 abortion clinics have closed as a result of 40 Days for Life campaigns and over 4,000 abortions have been avoided.

Last year three 40 Days for Life campaigners were threatened with a gun outside an abortion clinic in South Carolina. The aggressor, who was an abortion doctor, was later arrested by police.

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Church drops Labour MP from internship scheme Bishop links England’s riots to ‘culture of death’

BY ED WEST

A SENIOR Catholic Labour politician has been dropped from a Church internship scheme because of his voting record on abortion and samesex adoption.

Jon Cruddas, MP for Dagenham and Rainham, had originally been listed with Baroness Hollins and MPs Conor Burns and Greg Mulholland to receive an intern for a 10-month placement.

But he was dropped after the bishops’ conference was made aware of his voting record on issues concerning Church teaching.

Mr Cruddas has described himself as “pro-choice” and says he would like abortion to be “safe, legal and rare”. He also supported the last Government’s policy on adoption, which resulted in Catholic children’s agencies having to withdraw their adoption services.

A spokesman for the bishops’ conference said last week: “It has now emerged that one of the MPs we intended to work with this year has views on abortion significantly at variance with the Church’s position. Accordingly, we will now be placing this intern with another MP.

“We seek to place Catholic parliamentary interns with different MPs and MEPs each year. These MPs and MEPs come from all political parties. They are all practising

Christians but not necessarily Catholics. They are committed to working with us in delivering an educational programme for the interns. We seek to ensure that their views on fundamental moral questions are consonant with those of the Catholic Church.”

Bishop John Arnold, who oversees the scheme at the bishops’ conference, said the aim of the project was “to help form the consciences of the next generation of Catholic lay leaders; people deeply committed to their faith, who have a vocation to public service and a desire to put their faith into practice by working towards the common good”.

The interns begin their year by living and worshipping together at Newman House, the Catholic Chaplaincy to the University of London, and the scheme also involves studying for a part-time MA at Heythrop College.

Mr Cruddas said: “I was very keen to help the Church, but I entirely respect the its views on this. I’ll continue to help doing what I can, I’m sure. They have been courteous and we had a good discussion about it.”

He said he stood by his views on life matters. “I tried to help Tony Blair reach a compromise on the adoption agencies. As for abortion, I don’t think if you stopped it tomorrow, it would actually stop.”

BY ED WEST

BISHOP Emeritus Patrick O’Donoghue of Lancaster has spoken out about the culture of death in Britain and linked it to the violence that rocked England’s cities over the summer.

Giving a homily at a prolife pilgimage to Walsingham, Bishop O’Donoghue, in what he described as the a place “so important to the pro-life movement in the whole world”, said: “Home is where children are conceived, welcomed, and sometimes born. Home is where children are cherished and raised. Home is where the sick are nursed and cared for. Home is where we prepare for death, and where some of us die.

“Yes, abortion, contraception, euthanasia and assisted suicide destroy life, and they also destroy the sanctity of home. This is why there are so many broken homes in our country.

“The shocking outbreak of rioting that occurred in England during the summer was a symptom of the broken homes that so many of these children and young people are growing up in. I’m sure that one of the causes of these broken homes is the fact that more than five million unborn children have been killed through abortion since the Abortion Act was passed in the late 1960s.”

Bishop O’Donoghue, who retired to Cork in 2009, was widely praised for his Fit for Mission? series on the state of the Church and Catholic education.

He said at Walsingham: “I wrote about this link between violence among young people and abortion in my book Fit for Mission? Church.“I am convinced that there must be profoundly damaging consequences for the family in a country where contraception and abortion are so widespread. No wonder so many children are suffering depression and mental illness in a country that is such a hostile environment for human life.

“I am convinced another cause of the widespread violence lies in the Abortion Act of 1967. For 41 years we’ve lived in a state-sponsored culture of death that has killed five million children, and we’re now surprised that some of the surviving children have turned out violent with no regard for the sanctity of life?

“How many children know that their mothers have had an abortion? What effect will it have on them knowing that they have been deprived of a brother or sister through abortion?”

“If a society holds human life so cheaply is it any surprise that young people will also hold life cheaply and engage in violence?”

NEWSBULLETIN Blessed Sacrament carried through central London A THOUSAND people converged on central London last Saturday, accompanying the Blessed Sacrament in procession from Westminster Cathedral to St George’s Cathedral, Southwark. The procession marked the first anniversary of the beatification of Blessed John Henry Newman. Its aim, according to a diocesan spokesman, was to

“witness to the reality of the presence of Christ in London”.

It took more than 15 minutes for the crowds, who were singing hymns and praying the rosary, to entert St George’s. The two cathedrals are the closest Catholic cathedrals in the world, just 1.3 miles apart. Charterhouse: Page 20

Priest dies suddenly aged 42 FR MICHAEL WILLIAMS, chaplain to Broadgreen Hospital, Liverpool, has died suddenly at the age of 42.

Fr Williams, born in Liverpool, trained at Ushaw College, Durham, and was ordained to the priesthood in 2004. He was appointed to the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral that year and was chaplain to the Royal Liverpool Hospital. He moved to Broadgreen Hospital in 2009.

An obituary on the diocesan website said: “Michael was a deeply spiritual, kind and gentle man who will be missed greatly by those who knew him and worked alongside him both at the Metropolitan Cathedral and in the chaplaincies at the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen Hospitals.” His body was to be received at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King yesterday evening.

Fr Jonathan Brandon described his friend as “a great and holy priest” who “died as he lived – surrounded by prayer”.

Minister makes marriage plea IAIN DUNCAN SMITH, the Catholic Work and Pensions Secretary, has urged David Cameron to implement tax breaks for married couples before the next election.

Mr Duncan Smith made the plea during his speech at the Conservative conference this week. A YouGov survey also found that two thirds of voters supported marriage tax breaks. Editorial Comment: Page 13

Bishop rests after treatment BISHOP Crispian Hollis of Portsmouth has returned home after receiving treatment for bowel cancer.

The bishop said he was “immensely grateful to all who have written [to him] and who are praying. I can’t tell you what a support and strength that has been.”

He said he was “beginning to move around” and was hoping to catch up on backlog of letters and cards.

Census reveals schoolsʼ intake ALMOST a fifth of Catholic schools in England and Wales have a majority of non-Catholic pupils, according to the latest education census results.

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Judges told: sentences must be given in love

BY MADELEINE TEAHAN

ARCHBISHOP Vincent Nichols of Westminster has appealed to Catholics in the judicial and legal professions to ground their judgments in love and truth rather than mere retribution.

Speaking at the annual Red Mass at Westminster Cathedral on Monday, the archbishop said: “Today we pray that our personal weaknesses – our preferences and prejudices, our personal experiences and pain – may not corrupt our judgment, whether in the court or in the Church.

“Ours is a judgment to be given in love – a love above all for the truth, and because it is for the truth, a love for the person who is subject to that judgment. Justice must surely be a service of love, not simply an exercise of power nor, certainly, of retribution.”

The annual Red Mass, celebrated on Monday, marked the first day of the legal year. In his homily Archbishop Nichols called on the Holy Spirit to guide the judiciary and the legal profession in its work.

Those attending the Red Mass included Baroness Scotland of Asthal, Lady Justice Rafferty, a Court of

Appeal judge, and judges on the High Court bench including Mr Justice Tugendhat and Mr Justice Butterfield. The congregation also included Catholic barristers, solicitors, policemen, probation officers and others connected with the courts.

Archbishop Nichols contrasted God’s justice and human justice, appealing to his congregation to remember the complexities of human beings and their equality before God as mere mortals, regardless of their stature or occupation.

Quoting the hymn to the Holy Spirit “Veni Creator Spiritus”, he referred to man’s “mortal frame” and the dilemmas it creates in making objective judgments.

He said: “We know only too well the complexity, even the deviousness, of the human heart. And you know well how difficult it often is to discern motive, effect, consequence as well as the responsibility and subsequent guilt.

“Even though procedures and precedent are well established, there remains in every case a moment of human judgment. ‘Blest light’ given at that moment is welcome indeed.”

Archbishop Nichols also said that the crucifixion of Jesus was the pivotal expression of God’s justice and mercy.

He said: “This revelation of God’s justice is most fully expressed in the figure of our crucified Saviour. In his broken body we see the effects of our offences, for we know well that a crime and a sin always has its victim.

“In his unwavering love we see the mercy of God who permits all our failures, the damage we do and our anger at i t , to be absorbed by Jesus – into the infinite capacity of his divinity – so that the justice of God may issue forth in forgiveness and freedom.”

Archbishop Nichols’s comments came two months after the London riots which caused chaos across the capital.

Magistrates have since been criticised by figures such as Eoin McLennanMurray, president of the Prison Governors’ Association. He, among others, has accused magistrates of losing all sense of proport ion by handing out sentences which were far too harsh for the rioters.

He claimed judges had indulged in a “feeding frenzy” and ignored the norms of sentencing.

Judges and lawyers gather for the annual Red Mass

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Photo courtesy of the Archdiocese of Westminster

Top chaplain tells faithful: do more for prisoners

BY MADELEINE TEAHAN

THE COUNTRY’S leading Catholic prison chaplain has called on parishes to offer more support prisoners, particularly those who have just been released.

Mgr Malachy Keegan, prisons adviser to the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, was reported last week as saying that the Church was “neglecting” prisoners.

He said on Monday: “I don’t believe that the Church is neglecting prisoners and I believe that 160 Catholic chaplains working in our prisons in the name of the Church is clear evidence of the commitment of the Church to the welfare of prisoners.

“My point is that we need to make this work better known throughout the Church and encourage our parishes to be even more involved, particularly in supporting people when they leave prison.”

Mgr Keegan called for a “stand-alone Sunday each year” that would “focus the prayerful and thoughtful attention of the whole Church in England and Wales on criminal justice matters, on prisoners and victims of crime”.

Speaking separately at a Caritas seminar on criminal justice last Friday he appealed for a fresh approach to punishment, which avoids isolating prisoners.

He said: “We need to speak out and say another way is better.”

Mgr Keegan argued that prison was not always a deterrent and said: “I know plenty who would rather be in prison than outside, especially at certain times of year.”

Charities condemn death penalty for Iranian Christian

BY ED WEST

CATHOLICS in Britain have joined religious leaders and politicians around the world in condemning the death sentence imposed on an Iranian pastor who refuses to renounce his Christian faith.

Yusuf Nadarkhani, 34, was sentenced to death in September 2010 after being found guilty of apostasy, leading to worldwide condemnation from political and religious figures.

It is the first time in 20 years that the death sentence had been handed down for such a case, which is described by many as unconstitutional.

After appealing to Iran’s supreme court, the court stated that the original case should be re-opened but that Mr Nadarkhani’s sentence would be overturned if he renounced his Christian faith, something he reportedly refused to do so twice.

Vatican spokesman Fr Frederico Lombardi said: “I can say that – as is usual in such cases – the Holy See has expressed its concern through diplomatic channels.” Catholic charity Aid to the

Church in Need (ACN) has also appealed for prayer and action to save the life of the father of two.

Appealing for prayer for Mr Nadarkhani and action to secure his life be saved, ACN UK director Neville KyrkeSmith said: “There needs to be a voice for the silent and suffering Church, and for over 60 years Aid to the Church in Need has spoken out when others have feared to do so.

“Now is the time to speak up and pray out loud for Christians placed in a stranglehold by oppression.

“The decision to execute

Pastor Nadarkhani is not justifiable in the name of any religion. It is a totalitarian act – one man’s life being ended to dissuade others from opposing the political regime.

“All who love God – whatever their faith – must join in prayer that this decision be overturned. The Catholic community must not be struck dumb as such suffering goes on.”

Mr Nadarkhani was arrested in October 2009 while attempting to register his church in his home city of Rashat. The clergyman is reported to have converted to

Christianity aged 19, but argues that before that he was not a practising Muslim. But the prosecution said that as he was of Islamic “ancestry” he was still guilty of apostasy.

Last week Gholam-Ali Rezvani, the deputy governor of the province in northern Iran where the case is being heard, accused Mr Nadarkhani of being a “Zionist” and “committing security crimes”.

But the pastor’s lawyer, Mohammed Ali Dadkhah, continued to insist he was “95 per cent certain” his client would be acquitted even though sources close to the case said that the Iranian authorities may execute the Christian to deter others.

In its 2011 publication Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report on Christians oppressed for their Faith ACN noted that the number of Christians in Iran has plummeted from 100,000 in the mid-1970s to barely 15,000 today, thanks to the hardline regime installed by Ayatollah Khomeni and now led by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The Iranian embassy to the

Vatican told The Catholic Herald that the case was being studied and that it would not comment until a decision was made, nor would it comment on discussions between Tehran and the Vatican. However, the Holy See is known to have a history of dialogue with the Iranian regime, having negotiated the release of 15 Royal Navy personnel in 2007.

Last week Mr Nadarkhani’s death sentence was condemned by Foreign Secretary William Hague, the White House and Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of

Canterbury. Mr Hague said: “I deplore reports that Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, an Iranian church leader, could be executed imminently. This demonstrates the Iranian regime’s continued unwillingness to abide by its constitutional and international obligations to respect religious freedom.”

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, expressed “deep concern”. Additional reporting: Edward Pentin Milo Yiannopoulos: Page 12

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