theuniverse

Sunday February 12, 2012

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Catenians’ coast-to-coast pedal-push raises £6k

£1.30 €1.75

Helping family businesses get out of trouble Page 27

A group of saddle-sore Catenians have raised £6,000 through a 180-mile coast-to-coast bike ride – despite admitting that none of them knew how to repair a puncture or fix a chain! The six-strong Teesside group travelled from Cumbria’s Walney Island on the west coast to Whitby on the east coast in just two-anda-half days as part of a fundraising push that raised £10,000 for the

Catholic Diocese of Middlesbrough’s Youth Mission Team which carries out work across an area stretching as far south as Hull. The fundraising effort was inspired by a talk the Catenians heard by Fr Paul Farrer, who heads up the Youth Mission Team.

Fr Paul Farrer is pictured with coast-to-coast cyclists, from left, Phil Luke, Jamie Brown, Ste Hodgson and Phil Carey.

Catholic lives explored in new BBC TV series

By Tara Holmes

An award-winning documentary filmmaker has hailed Church leaders for giving him exclusive access to a Catholic seminary for the first TV programme of its kind.

Producer-director Richard Alwyn was allowed behind the walls of Allen Hall, one of three remaining seminaries in Britain, as part of the new BBC Four series Catholics.

Mr Alwyn who filmed at the London seminary over six months last year, told The Universe this week: “There was a real sense of privilege. I’d not spent time in a seminary before and I was bowled over by the solidity of the belief I found there.

“I was struck by the absolute confidence and depth of people’s faith and how it shaped every moment of their life and everything they do.”

The filmmaker, who is married to a Catholic but describes himself as agnostic, added: “I felt nothing but respect for the people I met. I’ve been fascinated by Catholic identity for a long time. My children went to Catholic schools – it’s something I’ve been very close to for many years.”

Priests, the first film in the threepart series, is an intimate portrait of seminarians at Allen Hall both at the beginning and the end of their training for the priesthood.

The second film, Children, focuses on a tiny Catholic primary school in the village of Chipping in rural Lancashire where six of its 33 pupils are preparing for their first Holy Communion.

The third film, Women, uses behind-the-scenes access to Westminster Cathedral to meet the female

■ Continued on page 2

Church’s stance when marriage breaks down Page 21

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