An interesting article from our local daily newspaper

The abuse crisis is rightly in the news and the Church and its leaders must take firm and decisive action to do all possible to provide acknowledgement and justice to those who have been harmed in any way by those in ministry. Today this article apperared in our local town newspaper.

ARRESTING IDEA TO COLLAR PONTIFF IS SERIOUSLY FLAWED.
Michael Coren, QMI Agency. Niagara Falls Review, Monday 19th April 2010.

Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, Stalin and Mao. Some of the all time great comedy duo acts. Now we have Hitchens and Dawkins. The critics love them. This from the Daily Atheist: “Upper class twits with all the arrogance and pomposity that years of in-bred priviledge and expensive private education can provide, these two jokers are guaranteed to give you laugh after laugh, even when they’ve done the same routine for years.”

Richard Dawkins is the straight man. Wandering around like some aged uncle searching for lost marbles, he stares out into the distance as the plebs read his books and think them so terribly clever. Unfortunately, the serious reviewers think them embarrassingly facile.

Christopher Hitchens is the comic relief. “I say, I say, I say,” he says to his buddy Dawkins. “My dog’s got no nose.” Really, replies Dick, that must be the fault of organised chrisitianity because we know the Pope used to cut the noses off dogs as a sacrifice to the Virgin Mary – and on and on and on. “No, no,” shouts Hitchens, “You’re supposed to ask me how it smells and I say awful.”

But the money also rolls in for Hitchens, who seems terribly concerned when young people are abused by Catholic priests, but oddly indifferent when Palestinian or Iraqi children are blown apart by rockets.

Now the guy’s have promised to arrest the Pope when he visits Britain because of his crimes against humanity. They mean the abuse scandal in which between 1.5 and 4% of priests molested mostly adolescent boys three decades ago. Pope Benedict has been tireless, in his words, in “cleansing the filth out of the Church,” but why let truth and justice get in the way of another Hitchens and Dawkins show.

To apply their logic, we would need to do alot of arresting. The vast majority of sexual abuse occurs in the family. The next highest amount comes from teachers. These two groups account for more than 75% of all charges, compared to less than 2% for the Church. Next are sports coaches, with some horribly infamous cases in hockey. Secular youth groups such a Scouts also experience abuse, as do synagogues, mosques and Protestant churches.

In fact, a Catholic church today is arguably the safest place for a young person to be. The reason evangelical atheists and fundamentalist anti-catholics like the Hitchens and Dawkins act won’t be consistent in their arresting fantasies is partly because they are hippocrites, but also because, they implicitly know that the Church is special. They expect more of it because it is righteous, right and godly.

Well said boys, well said

Quote of the day

“The resurrection of Jesus Christ has changed human history. It enters history... as an explosion of light, light which illuminates the darkness, light which allows us to see reality as it is, light which enables us to discern the good from what is evil. Darkness already begins to be dispelled even when only one single flicker of light appears. Even one single flicker of light can be the beginning of hope within any darkness.

We remember in our prayers this evening all those for whom darkness seems impossible to overcome, for whom darkness seems unbearable and without hope. We remember those for whom the darkness of their past still haunts them. We remember those whose torment and anxiety tears away at their will to live....

As a Christian community we are called to be light in the world. We are called to be with those for whom darkness is excruciating and who see no future, no hope. Woe to a Church which hides and destroys light in people’s hearts. Woe to a Church which prevents the light of Christ from appearing as it should.

Resurrection means that death has been definitively conquered. Jesus Christ entered into his passion and death freely out of love for us. His death was the ultimate expression of his giving of himself. Christ’s death lovingly opens the door which leads to resurrection and new life. It is love that transforms death definitively. That explosion of light which is the Resurrection tells us and reminds us even in the darkest days that there is always a future beyond darkness....

In our days there is so much scrutiny and examination of the Church. There are exposés of the failings of the Church; there is questioning of the role of the Church in society in the past and in whatever our future may be. The role of the Church is being examined under a microscope and from every possible direction. The spotlight of media and public opinion is focused on the failures and the betrayals of Church leaders and a damaging culture which has grown up in the Church.

I am not criticising the media for that. That is their job. In doing their job some will feel the media have been unfriendly to the Church, even unfair; others will welcome and recognise valid criticism, from whatever angle it comes, even if it comes from people patently unfavourable to the Church. We have to remember that the truth will set the Church free, even if the truth is hard to digest.

Identifying the failures of the Church may, however, be the easier task. There will be some who will hope that such exposure will mortally would an organization which they consider has gone irreparably astray. But what of those who love the Church? How do we overcome our disgust and shame for the sins of Christians?

The sins of the Church can well be exposed by the spotlight of the media; but the Church will be converted, renewed and reformed only when it allows the light of Christ to inspire it and guide it. It is the light of Christ which will show the real significance of the darkness that has slipped into our lives.

The light of Christ will expose the sins of Christians but the light of Christ does not abandon us naked and alone in the exposure of our shame and sin. The light of Christ heals, it leads; there is no way we can switch off or dim that part of the light that exposes the sad realities of the past; there is no way we should switch off or dim the light that can open the path to a new future. No generation is too sophisticated not to need the light of Christ; no generation is too sophisticated not to be able to comprehend that light and what it can bring to society....

The tomb signifies a place of death. The Resurrection brings new light. The spirit gathers us as children of the light, prepared with all our weaknesses to ensure that the message of Jesus Christ is not just transmitted abstractly to the next generation, but that the next generation will be a generation inspired by the light of Christ.

The message of the Resurrection comes to us at a moment of darkness. The message of the Resurrection comes to as a message of hope that the darkness will not prevail.

Christ is truly risen. Let us go out into life filled with joyful hope.”
--Diarmuid Martin
Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland
Homily at the Easter Vigil
3 April 2010

Chrism Mass Homily, Bishop John Hine.

by Bishop John Hine
at Saint George's Cathedral, Southwark
on Wednesday, 31st March 2010


In these challenging times for the church, times of shame, of apologies, of great hurt, it is particularly poignant that we priests are gathered together to renew our commitment to our calling. I don’t know about you, my fellow priests, but I guess that most of us, priests and people, over the last few weeks have suffered great waves of different emotions, perhaps of anger, or of shame, perhaps disgust. For myself at times I have just felt very lost.

The justified anger of the voices of the abused leave me with a sense that all those many years of priestly ministry are now somehow tainted. How could this have happened? Where do we go from here?

When I prayed about what I should say to you today, I got this overwhelming sense that we simply have to pick ourselves up and start again, but not in our own strength. The image that came into my mind was that of the prophet Elijah, running away, in despair, lying down under the furze bush and saying ‘I have had enough – I want to give up’.

But we all know what happened next – the angel of the Lord fed him, not once but twice and strengthened him for the journey ahead and he picked himself up and travelled on to Horeb, the mountain of God, where he had a new encounter with God.

That feeding of Elijah is seen as a prefiguring of the Eucharist. Tomorrow evening we will all be celebrating the Last Supper in our parishes. How can that be a new start for us, in the sort of way that being fed was a new start for Elijah?

In 2004 Pope John Paul the second said something very simple to the priests of the world “At the Last Supper we were born as priests”.

At other times he elaborated on this “the Eucharistic sacrifice is the centre and root of the whole priestly life” (JP 2 ’93); “The Eucharist is the raison d’etre of the priesthood’ (JP2 Dominicae Cenae).

So it is absolutely right that we should be gathered here around the table of the Eucharist humbly renewing our commitment as his ministers and praying to be ‘born’ again as priests.

I am going to mention two aspects of the Mass, that strike me as being particularly pertinent to our circumstances today - Covenant and Sacrifice.

First, Covenant: ‘This is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant’.

The Eucharist reminds us that we are people of the new covenant. And that God is always faithful to his covenant. We struggle to be faithful. We do not wish just to be fair-weather friends, faithful to our commitment only when things are fine and easy. We are called to be faithful in the difficult times. Jesus Christ was faithful to death, death on a Cross. He strengthens us in our weakness with the blood of the new and everlasting covenant.

The Mass is the Sacrifice of Christ on the Cross offered for the salvation of the world. Sacrifice and suffering go together.

Let us think about sacrifice in our own lives for a moment
“Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps” 1 Peter 2:21.

We recognise this in our people – the amount of daily sacrifice for each other that goes on in their families and in their homes.

“My brothers, I implore you by God’s mercy to offer your very selves to him: a living sacrifice, dedicated and fit for his acceptance” Rom 12 1.

So there is no following of Christ unless that notion of sacrifice is firmly embedded in our spirituality, and perhaps particularly as priests, with that great privilege of standing at the altar offering the sacrifice of the Mass for all people, that notion of self-giving is absolutely core.

There is undoubtedly a great deal of sacrifice already in your lives as you minister unselfishly to your people - a priest’s life can be extremely demanding. It is good to recognise this, but perhaps, not just to recognise it, but to value it, to take a positive grasp of it – this is who we are as priests offering Mass daily at the altar, trying to offer ourselves with the sacrifice of Jesus who was sometimes acclaimed but who was also despised and rejected on his journey to Calvary.

Have these thoughts in mind as we renew our priestly commitment. As we do so you will find now that these themes I have talked about, the centrality of the Eucharist, covenant fidelity and sacrifice, are very much to the fore in the wording of our promises.

Holy Week

This week I am heading back to the UK to lead a retreat for young people based around the liturgies of the Sacred Triduum. Holy Week is my favourite time of the year and as I will not have time for blogging I would like to share with you some thoughts.

Holy Week

We approach Holy Week - that special and solemn moment which defines and dramatizes what it means to be Christian. It marks the great festival celebration of the central mysteries of our faith. We tend to look upon this week as a re-enactment of the final events in the human life and journey of Jesus Christ. We move from His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, through the Last Supper, the betrayal the agony in the garden, the trial, the way of the cross, the crucifixion, to His burial and resurrection.
But our Holy Week is so much more. Christian communities across the world gather to proclaim their faith in the saving mystery of Christ's death and resurrection. They listen to the Word and celebrate ancient rituals in order to be renewed in their commitment to live and die as faithful disciples of Jesus. They pass slowly through the solemn days of this Holy Week praying to be cleansed, healed and transformed by the spirit of the Risen Christ.
We used to call the first day of Holy Week "Palm Sunday"; now it is better named Passion Sunday. The very first Reading, immediately preceding the Entrance Procession recalls the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. The crowds, and His close followers, all felt that something extraordinary was about to happen. His miracles and His message had a tremendous impact on so many. Now, here in the centre of power, He was acclaimed as king and Messiah.
Then, quite suddenly, the mood of the Liturgy shifts to the Passion. The "power people" did not acclaim Him. They had mistrusted Him for a long time, and realized that the time had come to get rid of Him. Conveniently Judas, one of His own, was willing to set up His capture, in the safety and solitude of the Garden of Olives.
So, on Thursday night, the trap is sprung. He is arrested and put through a rigged trial, then handed over to the Romans for the death of crucifixion.
Friday morning, the residents of Jerusalem woke to the word of His arrest and condemnation. Many of them who had welcomed Him on Sunday with the palm branches of victory and cries of "Hosanna" now gather to see Him paraded before them by Pilate, bloodied, bruised and naked, apparently a total failure.
It was so easy then to reject Him, to disown Him, to cry out: "Crucify Him!" For so many, who wanted merely to ride on the wave of His popularity, the tide was turned. The triumph of the preceding Sunday had vanished, and they wanted no part of Him. And so, in a way, they condemned themselves to a death far worse than what awaited Him.

Holy Week and the Sacred Triduum present each of us with the opportunity to re-examine our faith commitment to Jesus, and the Church. This holy time allows us to ask ourselves some pretty important questions:
• Do we see our association with Jesus and the Catholic Church as triumph or failure?
• Do we embrace the Gospel totally?
• Are we willing to share in the "apparent defeat" of Jesus represented by His Cross, by the inevitable pain and suffering of our lives, so that we can share in the total victory of His resurrection?
• Does our faith and trust persist even in the darkest moments?
Jesus certainly understands our natural aversion to losing, to defeat of any sort. He begs us always to look beyond the surface of things, to see with the eyes of faith, and in that vision to see all that we do in the light of His Easter victory.
There will always be moments of loss, of pain, of apparent death. But He invites us to be strong and courageous, assuring us that in the power of Easter and resurrection, there is no failure, only victory.
There is an added meaning to our celebration of Passion Sunday, Holy Week and Easter. Each year the Church invites us to bring the heart-aches of our lives, our own personal broken dreams and moments of sorrow and pain to the Risen Christ. We relive the final days of the Savior in order to reinforce our conviction that resurrection always follows death, that victory always crowns our failures.
As we walk with Jesus through the incidents of Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, we recoil again at the ugliness and horror of his rejection, betrayal, condemnation, passion and crucifixion. We study His courage, His struggle to bend His will to the Father's. We understand His agonizing sense of abandonment. We feel His hurt at the treachery of His friends, and ultimately His trusting embrace of the Cross - and the shameful death it promised - knowing that the love and power of His Father would sustain Him and carry Him through to the triumph of Resurrection and New Life.


We all need the experience of Passion Sunday, Holy Week, The Triduum and Easter to renew our faith and our hope, to reassure us that the love and power of our Father will not allow evil, sin and death to destroy us. We must not give in to despair; we cannot give up. The Risen Christ is our hope, and the guarantee of our ultimate victory.
In many ways, the world is waiting and watching. The Christian way of life, from the first Easter Sunday until today, continues to offer renewed vision and hope to the human family. Those who do not share this faith know what it claims and what it promises. They hear the Gospel of peace, of social justice, of reconciliation, of compassion. They know that these values could and should dramatically change the quality of human life all over the globe. But then they look around - and see so much hate and poverty and crime and suffering.... and they wonder....
We can make the power of the Resurrection real. But we can only do this if we draw near to Jesus in a special way during this sacred time. We have to make time for prayer, for Liturgy, for the sacramental encounters that will allow these timeless mysteries to touch us, heal us, and renew us. These are days when the entire Community is called to be present - when we should make every effort to put other things aside to share in the Liturgical celebrations of these events.
The experience of our Holy Week should be profound for each of us individually and for our community. We want, especially during these sacred days, to pour ourselves out, to be humble, obedient servants of God, so that we, like Jesus, will exalted, lifted up, and deserve the name "faithful Christian."
It is Christ our Saviour who enables us to do this. So we join Him in mind and spirit on Passion Sunday, enter Jerusalem with Him, proclaiming Jesus Christ Is Lord!
We will come to be with Him on Holy Thursday, learn again the meaning of Christian service through His washing of His disciples feet, recognize Him in the breaking of the Bread, and proclaim: Jesus Christ Is Lord!
We will come to be with Him on Good Friday, watch with Him in the Garden, share His pain and shame on Calvary, watch Him die - and proclaim: Jesus Christ Is Lord!
And we will come to be with Him at the Easter Vigil or on Easter Sunday, see again the mystery of the Resurrection with the eyes of faith, and rise ourselves with Him to new holiness of life and love as we proclaim Jesus Christ Is Lord!

Romero on our worth

If we are worth anything, it is not because we have more money or more talent, or more human qualities. Insofar as we are worth anything, it is because we are grafted on to Christ's life, his cross and resurrection. That is a person's measure. --Archibishop Oscar Romero, March 4 1979

Oscar Romero, Bishop & Martyr

Today is the 30th anniversary of the murder of Archbishop Ocar Romero by agents of the Slavadorian government. Romero was bishop of San Salvador and had become a prophet amongst his people, naming the many injustices that they endured and calling on those who governed his country to adhere to the message of the Gospel. He is one of the major influences in my life.



Oscar Romero, Pray for us.

Feast of St Patrick

I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, through belief in the Threeness, through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.

I arise today through the strength of Christ with his Baptism, through the strength of His Crucifixion with His Burial through the strength of His Resurrection with His Ascension, through the strength of His descent for the Judgment of Doom.

I arise today through the strength of the love of Cherubim in obedience of Angels, in the service of the Archangels, in hope of resurrection to meet with reward, in prayers of Patriarchs, in predictions of Prophets, in preachings of Apostles, in faiths of Confessors, in innocence of Holy Virgins, in deeds of righteous men.

I arise today, through the strength of Heaven; light of Sun, brilliance of Moon, splendor of Fire, speed of Lightning, swiftness of Wind, depth of Sea, stability of Earth, firmness of Rock.

I arise today, through God's strength to pilot me: God's might to uphold me, God's wisdom to guide me, God's eye to look before me, God's ear to hear me, God's word to speak for me, God's hand to guard me, God's way to lie before me, God's shield to protect me, God's host to secure me: against snares of devils, against temptations of vices, against inclinations of nature, against everyone who shall wish me ill, afar and anear, alone and in a crowd.

I summon today all these powers between me (and these evils): against every cruel and merciless power that may oppose my body and my soul, against incantations of false prophets, against black laws of heathenry, against false laws of heretics, against craft of idolatry, against spells of witches, smiths and wizards, against every knowledge that endangers man's body and soul. Christ to protect me today against poisoning, against burning, against drowning, against wounding, so that there may come abundance in reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ in breadth, Christ in length, Christ in height, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me, Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me, Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, through belief in the Threeness, through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of Christ. May Thy Salvation, O Lord, be ever with us. Amen.