The Tablet

This morning I heard the editor of the Tablet, Catherine Pepinster, being interviewed again on the Today Programme about the latest accusation against the Pope which the Vatican has defended itself. I didn`t listen too closely to what was being said as it sounded like many of the interviews I`d heard before.

However I was pleased to read an article in the Tablet yesterday by Fr Timothy Radcliffe with the title, `Should I stay or should I go` which I thought made many useful points, explaining why the present situation is not a reason for leaving the Catholic Church. Copyright prevents me giving the whole article but it is available on the Tablet site here.

However a couple of quotes will be useful:

...the statistics for the US, from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in 2004, suggest that Catholic clergy do not offend more than the married clergy of other Churches.

Some surveys even give a lower level of offence for Catholic priests. They are less likely to offend than lay school teachers, and perhaps half as likely as the general population. Celibacy does not push people to abuse children. It is simply untrue to imagine that leaving the Church for another denomination would make one’s children safer. We must face the terrible fact that the abuse of children is widespread in every part of society. To make the Church the scapegoat would be a cover-up.

and

From the beginning and throughout history, Peter has often been a wobbly rock, a source of scandal, corrupt, and yet this is the one – and his successors – whose task is to hold us together so that we may witness to Christ’s defeat on Easter Day of sin’s power to divide. And so the Church is stuck with me whatever happens. We may be embarrassed to admit that we are Catholics, but Jesus kept shameful company from the beginning

I would like to hear Fr Radcliffe being interviewed on the Today Programme or Newsnight.

The Priest

I was delighted to receive in the post yesterday a complimentary copy of `The Priest` the journal of the Australian Conference of Catholic Clergy. This issue is dedicated to the conference in Rome I attended back in January and gives the texts of all the talks. I was so glad to have this as I didn`t take notes at the time and there were some things I wished I could remember from it. I see that past issues are available on-line and so this one should be too in time.

I`ve not looked at the ACCC site recently but I see they have a good selection of photos of the liturgies which are well worth a look.

All in all the ACCC is an impressive organisation ( as I`m sure their American counterpart the CCC is too). Wouldn`t it be great if we had a similar organisation in the UK?

ACN Pilgrimage to Walsingham

I`ve been sent these details about the forthcoming ACN pilgrimage to Walsingham which I`m happy to pass on.


Aid to the Church in Need UK – Annual Walsingham Pilgrimage of Grace – Saturday, 22nd May 2010, Feast of Saint Rita of Cascia


Please join us as Aid to the Church in Need remembers suffering Christians around the world with our 2010 Pilgrimage to the Roman Catholic National Shrine in Walsingham.


ACN is organising coaches from London Victoria. Should parishioners wish to join us at Walsingham, travelling independently or, perhaps, organising coaches from their locality they are very welcome to do so.


For those who would like to join us on this Pilgrimage and would like more information a booking form is downloadable from the ACN website at the following link. You could also contact us on 020 8642 8668.

http://www.acnuk.org/form.php/149/walsingham-pilgrimage-2010-booking-form

Easter

While I`m waiting for the lunch to cook I thought I`d take the time to wish everyone a Happy Easter. I`m feeling rather exhausted just now and fell asleep last night watching an interesting programme on the Shroud of Turin. I`m sorry to have missed the ending and hope I can find it on one of those playback sites.

Maundy Thursday had a reasonable turnout of parishioners. I`m alway impressed by Catholics who come for this Mass as it is the least high profile of the Triduum ceremonies and people who come just want to enter into Holy Week as fully as they can. I failed to remember to buy a football rattle for the clapper used in place of bells at the consecration but I did have a plastic baby`s clapper thing which makes a suitable noise and I`m glad to say it was used to good effect.

Good Friday saw a large number of people at the Stations of the Cross at 10pm. I quite like to use the version by bishop Konstant on Good Froday but couldn`t find the book so we had the ones by Fr Cormac Rigby which I also like. Just before anyone is worried we did have the St Alphonsus Stations on two of the Sundays of Lent.

At 3pm we had the Solemn Commemoration of the Lord`s Passion and I was glad to see we had four altar servers turn up to help with the ceremonies. The church was full and all went well. At 5pm we had the same liturgy in the Extraordinary Form. This was thanks to the Jarrow men who offered to sing and who were helped by 1569 Rising and the former director of the now defunct Schola Gregoriana of Northumbria, Ian Graham. While I was worried about whether we would have enough servers, in the event we had four which was just about enough. The 3pm liturgy finshed just after 4 and we began rehearsing for the 5pm at 4.15. So I was delighthed that we had the resources to celebrate the Extraordinary Form and many thanks to all who helped. However it was rather sad that so few of the faithful availed themselves of this opportunity. From even among the avowed adherents of the Extraordinary Form in this diocese few came. Some preferred to attend the OF as they said the time of 5pm was inconvenient and others just didn`t seem interested.

The Easter vigil started at 8pm and despite a day of heavy showers the weather held to enable us to have the Easter fire outside. I hadn`t said anything to encourage people to make this their Easter Mass. It was a pity that not more came to this, the central liturgy of the Church`s year. Our music group had worked hard and did very well. I would say about 60-80 people attended and then we had refreshments in the hall with a simnel cake made by a parishioner and wine.

This morning although the promised sunshine didn`t happen, the church looked its best and was absolutely packed. I had said the 9.15 at Longbenton first where all went well. Then it was the 10.30 at St Mary`s. A rousing rendition of Thine Be the Glory concluded the Mass.

A Time for Contrition

I came across this article from the New York Times which seems more balanced than many I`ve seen. Just thought I`d mention it.

Holy Week

I`ve been asked if I`m celebrating any Holy Week liturgies in the Extraordinary Form. Thanks to the chant group from Jarrow I`m glad to able to say that there will be a Good Friday Commemoration of the Lord`s Passion according to the 1962 books at St Mary`s, Forest Hall at 5pm on Good Friday. However there will be no sung Mass for Easter Sunday at Longbenton although it is the first Sunday of the month.

In previous years we have been able to celebrate Tenebrae but this year that will not happen. Most of the schola who were involved have moved away from Tyneside over the last few years and the reinforcements from north of the border are now in the happy position of being asked to sing Tenebrae in the cathedral in Edinburgh. Congratulations to Alan and the St Margaret Schola of Edinburgh (which has a blog here) : I hope all goes well.

A list of Holy Week liturgies in the Extraordinary Form taking place in England and Wales can be found here thanks to the LMS. It is good to see there is so much on offer.

Mass at Stella

Thanks to Frank Erskine for sending these pictures of yesterday`s High Mass for the feast of St Cuthbert. There was a good turn out for the Mass and the it was good to have the choir of St George`s, Cullercoats, to sing for us. The choir enjoyed singing this music in the context for which it was written and we look forward to hearing them sing again at a future Mass. Fr Swales was the celebrant, I was the deacon and Fr Phillips, the parish priest, was the sub-deacon. Seasoned viewers of pictures from the world of the Extraordinary Form may recognise the MC: Leo Darroch, the president of Una Voce International.

Sunderland man becomes bishop

Just thought it may be of interest to readers to know that the new bishop of Gibraltar who was announced yesterday is a native of Sunderland.

The following appeared on the Vatican Information Service site yesterday regarding papal appointments:

Appointed Fr. Ralph Heskett C.Ss.R. delegate for vocations for the Redemptorist province of Great Britain.The bishop-elect was born in Sunderland, England in 1953 and ordained a priest in 1976. He succeeds Bishop Charles Caruana, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

Catholic Triumph at Durham

Another story I`d been meaning to draw attention to I first saw in the Tablet but I also see gets good coverage in the Northern Cross. Readers will remeber the Intelligence Squared debate in London last year where the motion that `The Catholic Church is a force for good in the world` was overwhelmingly defeated. Then there was the more recent debate, hosted by the Spectator, on the motion that  `England should be a Catholic country again` where the motion was carried by Cardinal Murphy O`Connor, Piers Paul Reid and Dom Anthony Sutch. Now we have had a similar debate at Durham university on the motion `This house believes that Catholic morality has no place in the 21st century`. Speaking for the motion were Dr Julian Baggini, an atheist and editor of The Philosophy Magazine and one Thomas Ball. Speaking against were the university Catholic chaplain, Fr Tony Currer and Chris Lamb of the Tablet.  Fr Currer has written an account of the proceddings in this month`s Northern Cross  (p.6). He made the point that the bedrock of Catholic teaching is the innate dignity of the human person and that the biggest afront to human dignity is poverty, injustice and warfare. That seemed to do the trick as the motion was defeated. Congratulations to Fr Currer and Chris Lamb.

Fame at Last!

I must have had Blogger`s Block or something but I have been meaning to get around to a few things and never have managed it. However just to say that Forest Murmurs this month reached the height of its fame in that it was quoted on the front page of the Northern Cross, our diocesan newspaper, in the lead story about the reception of Anglican bishop Paul Richardson, into the Catholic Church. Normally the front page of the NC is made available by the diocesan website, each month but this month that is not to be so I can`t let you see it. Apparently this is because Paul Richardson wants to keep his reception fairly quiet, even though I first saw the story in the Daily Telegraph! Does this mean the Northern Cross has a bigger circulation than the Telegraph?!

Anyway I`m grateful to the Northern Cross for a mention. The second last paragraph quotes me when I spoke about hearing the former bishop preach at St John`s in Killingworth. Maybe I should also mention that this month sees the new-look Northern Cross with full colour on every page. There is a website here with some very jaunty music.

Mass for St Cuthbert`s Day at Stella

A group of priests of the diocese are arranging a High Mass in the Extraordinary Form at the church of  St Mary and St Thomas Aquinas at Stella, near Blaydon for St Cuthbert`s day ( March 20th). Mass will start at 12 noon and the music for the ordinary of the Mass will be Palestrina`s Aeterna Christi Munera setting which will be sung by the choir of St George`s, Cullercoats. This should be a splendid occasion and an opportunity to visit one of the most historic churches in the diocese for anyone who hasn`t been there before.

Here`s some information about the parish culled from `Down Your Aisles` by Michael Morris and Leo Gooch.

The earliest record of a Catholic presence at Stella is in 1149 when the bishop of Durham granted the manor of Stella to the Benedictine nuns of Newcastle as a summer retreat and a source of income. Stella Hall was created after the dissolution of the monasteries but was built by a Catholic, Nicholas Tempest. In 1598, the bishop of Durham writing about Catholic activity in his diocese wrote `Nicholas Tempest of Stella, that great recusant... where at Stella, if I am rightly informed, they keep up a Popish spiritual service`.

A priest was in residence at the hall throughout the penal period with Benedictines and Jesuits serving as chaplains. An interesting point to note is that the name of the tune for `Hail Queen of Heaven` is Stella because it was composed there.

The church opened on October 12th 1831 and was designed to seat 300. A three part Mass ( by Webbes) was sung with full orchestral accompaniment, preceded by the overture to the Messiah and terminated by the Hallelujah Chorus! The church is notable for the design of the presbytery which is added as a kind of facade to the church so that from the road it looks like a castle more than anything, presumably so as not to alarm any passing Protestants. Stella Hall itself was demolished in 1954. Four daughter parishes have been founded from Stella.

North East Catholic History Society

I`ve remembered to give a little more notice for the next meeting this time. The next talk will be on Wednesday 3rd March at 2pm at St Andrew`s, Worswick Street, Newcastle. The talk was meant to be given by Mr George Thornton on the topic of St Robert of Newminster and the Early Cistercians. However Mr Thornton has had to withdraw this time for personal reasons and we are fortunate that Dr Leo Gooch can step in to give a talk on Lord Lumley (1537-1609) who is the subject of his latest book.

Big Surprise?

Rorate Caeli reports a rumour seen on a Spanish blog that the Holy Father will, during Holy Week,  unveil a surprise which will be for the good of the whole Church. It is speculated that it could be the withdrawal of the indult for Holy Communion in the hand or that the Pope will celebrate the Mass that day in the Extraordinary Form. The day suggested for this is Maundy Thursday.

I`m slightly worried because Maundy Thursday is April 1st! Let`s hope the announcement is made in the afternoon.

Sainte-Marie de La Garde

Thirteen monks from the abbey of Sainte-Madeleine du Barroux, near Carpentras, which I first had the joy of visiting in 1984 ( it had its origins in 1970 as an extraordinary form monastery), were sent by their abbot in 2002 to found the new monastery of Sainte Marie de la Garde near Agen. I mention this as they offer a widget which apparently allows you to be united with the monks in prayer as it rings a bell for Lauds, Sext and Vespers. This is offered as an opportunity to live your Lent according to the routine of the monks of St Marie de la Garde. Apart from anything the site offers information on the building of the new monastery. Makes a nice change from continuing stories of closure.

Mystified

I`m sorry but I don`t understand how a Catholic school can provide information about how to have an abortion. According to canon law, anyone whose co-operation in procuring an abortion is an essential part of it coming about incurs an automatic excommunication.

I look forward to hearing how this can happen in a Catholic school.

Former assistant bishop of Newcastle becomes a Catholic

I read last night on Damian Thompson`s blog about bishop Paul Richardson, the former assistant bishop of the Anglican diocese of Newcastle, being received into the Catholic Church at Durham university Catholic chaplaincy last month. (The Telegraph also has the story.) I came across him in 2007 at the induction of the new vicar of Killingworth back in September 2007 and blogged about how impressed I was by his sermon on St Gregory the Great. I`m only sorry to read that he no longer lives in the North  East but in London. Damian also reports that Paul Richardson has said he is not looking to be part of the ordinariate which is a shame given the provision for former Anglican bishops to maintain their episcopal insignia which is one of the more intriguing parts of the provision.

Congratulations to the former bishop!

Lent Retreat

Fr de Malleray is giving a retreat for lay people next month. Full details below.

Come and meet us soon at the Lenten week-end of recollection: 5-7 March 2010
on ‘The Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Hell and Heaven’.

*Address: All Saints Conference Centre, Shenley Lane, London Colney, Herts, AL2 1AF.
*Website: www.allsaintspc.org.uk.


*Starts on Friday 5th March 2010 at 5pm (later arrival possible) – ends on Sunday 7th March 2010 at 4pm.
*Holy Mass in the EF on Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday.


*Confession / spiritual direction on request.


* Retreat Master: Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP

*Price: £126 everything included (for: £116 as Centre’s fees + £10 as FSSP fees).


*Please bring your traditional hand missal + your own towel and soap.


*Booking: please send to us a £15 deposit cheque made payable to FSSP ENGLAND. Please kindly book now.


Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP


Priestly Fraternity of St Peter in England

179 Elgar Rd, RG2 0DH, Reading, Berkshire, UK


Tel: +44 (0)118 987 5819 - E-mail: malleray@fssp.org -


Community: www.fssp.co.uk - Youth: www.juventutem.org - Culture: www.lartpourlame.com


FSSP England is a registered charity n° 1129964

Pilgrimage to Lyon and Ars

On Monday I set out for Stanstead to meet the rest of the party of priests heading out to Lyon for a pilgrimage under the direction of Fr de Malleray of the FSSP. After an epic journey from Lyon airport which took three hours using a bus, tram, underground and (very crowded) bus again we reached our base: the FSSP house at Francheville on the outskirts of the city. This house also accomodates a small primary school and when we arrived workmen were still busy on the refurbishing of the house. It is dedicated to St Padre Pio and has a rather nice stained glass window in the chapel dedicated to him. On the hill behind the house is a seminary of the diocese of Lyon which is now up for sale.

On Tuesday morning we woke to find it was snowing: it continued to snow most of the day. I had hoped to leave the snow behind in England!  Our programme began with a visit to the Gallo-Roman museum which was quite spectacular. There was a special exhibition on Roman burial rites which was very well done. After this we made for the basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, which has one of the most breath-taking interiors I have ever seen. After a bouchon lunch we headed off to see the church of St Georges where the FSSP had their original apostolate in Lyon, the cathedral of St John the Baptist and the church of St Nizier which was built on the site of the first Christian place of worship in the where Mass was celebrated from 150AD.

On Wednesday we had a day of silent retreat in the house. Fr de Malleray gave us four conferences on the priestly life and we had readings at meals from St Pius X`s exhortation on the priestly life Haerent animo. Fr de Malleray recommend to us Bl. Columba Marmion`s Christ the Ideal of the Priest as the best book he has read on the priesthood. I have had a copy for many years and intend to read it in this Year of the Priesthood. Father`s talks were both practical and challenging and gave me at least, much food for thought.

On Thursday we headed of to Ars for the day. I`m delighted to report that not only was there no problem arranging for our group to celebrate the EF in the church at Ars but the sacristy even provided altar cards and missals. As we entered the church I could hear a Missa Cantata being celebrated on the altar above which the body of the saint is on display. This was being celebrated by a priest of a new group, the Missionaries of Divine Mercy from Toulon,  which seem to be modelled on the White Fathers. There were a number of priests of the group with a large group of faithful. I`d never been to Ars before and hadn`t realised that while the nave of the original parish church has been preserved the sanctuary has been removed and replaced with a much larger, elaborate one which included the shrine of the saint on the right hand side. This shrine is not visible from the old nave. In the sacristy the first four of our group prepared to celebrate their Masses. I was lucky to be allotted the altar with the relic of St John Vianney. Once I left the sacristy and entered the new part of the church I caught sight of the altar for the first time and found it a most moving experience to see his body above the altar. There is not a lot to see in Ars but we made a visit to the presbytery where the saint lived. Later in the day the archbishop of New York and a group of his priests celebrated Mass at the altar of the saint. I looked through the book in the sacristy where priests who have said Mass sign and saw there had been a group of priests from Hexham and Newcastle there a fortnight before our visit and also a pilgrimage of priests from Nottingham diocese with their bishop had been in January.

And so on Friday afternoon we left Lyon ( and the snow) to return to England. I am so glad to have had the opportunity to visit Ars in the Year of the Priest and seek the intercession of St John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests. Many thanks to Fr de Malleray for organising it and making it possible.

News from Ecclesia Dei

For anyone who missed yesterday`s clarification from Ecclesia Dei yesterday, these are the five points which were clarified in a response to the diocese of Rzeszów. ( Many thanks to the NLM for this.)

1. If there is no other possibility, because for instance in all churches of a diocese the liturgies of the Sacred Triduum are already being celebrated in the Ordinary Form, the liturgies of the Sacred Triduum may, in the same church in which they are already celebrated in the Ordinary Form, be additionally celebrated in the Extraordinary Form, if the local ordinary allows.

2. A Mass in the usus antiquior may replace a regularly scheduled Mass in the Ordinary Form. The question contextualizes that in many churches Sunday Masses are more or less scheduled continually, leaving free only very incovenient mid afternoon slots, but this is merely context, the question posed being general. The answer leaves the matter to the prudent judgement of the parish priest, and emphasises the right of a stable group to assist at Mass in the Extraordinary Form.

3. A parish priest may schedule a public Mass in the Extraordinary Form on his own accord (i.e. without the request of a group of faithful) for the benefit of the faithful including those unfamiliar with the usus antiquior. The response of the Commission here is identical to no. 2.

4. The calendar, readings or prefaces of the 1970 Missale Romanum may not be substituted for those of the 1962 Missale Romanum in Masses in the Extraordinary Form.

5. While the liturgical readings (Epistle and Gospel) themselves have to be read by the priest (or deacon/subdeacon) as foreseen by the rubrics, a translation to the vernacular may afterwards be read also by a layman.

I can think of a number of parish priests of my acquaintance who will feel supported by this as they have introduced an EF Sunday Mass where there was an OF one before. It is also very useful to read that a parish priest may introduce an EF Mass without waiting for a request from a `stable group`.

Ushaw Conference

I received this notice from the LMS regarding the forthcoming Ushaw training conference. I`m sorry to hear that there have not been so many applications so far. It was a marvellous week last year and I hope we can repeat it this year. Even if many priests learnt how to celebrate Low Mass last year, surely there must be still quite a few who would enjoy learning how to celebrate Missa Cantata or how to be a subdeacon or deacon at High Mass.Apart from anything there was the company of good priests and wonderful liturgies and the splendid architecture of Ushaw. There is also a notice about training for Masters of Ceremonies.

Latin Mass Society
Priests’ Training Conference
Ushaw College
12th to 16th April 2010

The Latin Mass Society has announced that, although a good number of bookings have been received for the Priests’ Training Conference to be held at Ushaw College in Co Durham during Low Week, about 12 places are still available; and it is expected that these will be taken in the next few weeks.

The conference will provide tuition for priests wishing to learn to celebrate Mass in the usus antiquior, or traditional form, with classes for beginners and more advanced students, as well as those wishing to learn to sing at a Missa Cantata or to celebrate a Solemn Mass. The conference will also include a range of liturgies which will be examples of best practice in the traditional rites. There will also be a spiritual lecture.

Ushaw College is an ideal location for this conference because of the range of facilities it offers, including numerous chapels and side altars for practice Masses. A schola and polyphonic choir will be in attendance to provide the music at all services which will take place in the magnificent St Cuthbert’s Chapel.

As an innovation this year, a simultaneous course will be run for servers wishing to learn how to be an MC at a Missa Cantata or Solemn Mass. Applications are invited from men or boys who already have a basic knowledge of how to serve at Low Mass.

The conference fee is £115 inclusive of full board and lodging. Further information and application forms can be obtained from:
The Latin Mass Society
11 -13 Macklin Street
London WC2B 5NH
020 7404 7284
thelatinmasssociety@snmail.co.uk


Latin Mass Society
Training for Masters of Ceremonies


The Latin Mass Society will be providing training for men and boys who wish to learn to be Masters of Ceremonies at Sung and Solemn Masses. The first training course will take place during the Priests’ Training Conference which will be held at Ushaw College in Co Durham from 12th to 16th April 2010. A further training opportunity is planned for later in the year in a more southerly location.

The rubrics of the Roman Rite require that there is a Master of Ceremonies at a Missa Cantata and at a Missa Solemnis. It is his job to take charge of all that happens on the sanctuary, including giving discreet directions to the priest. In the case of a Solemn Mass, there is also a deacon and a sub-deacon and generally more servers who may require some supervision. This requires a level of knowledge of the rubrics far in excess of that needed to serve at a Low Mass. It also requires a degree of confidence beyond that of ordinary servers.

As more priests are being trained in the usus antiquior, and more Masses are occurring in the traditional rite, the shortage of servers is becoming more acute. This is especially so in the case of Sung Masses which require a greater number of servers, and also servers with greater skills. At present, it is very difficult to find a well qualified and experienced MC in most parts of the country.

Men and boys who have already mastered the art of serving at Low Mass, and who think they may be able to cope with the job of MC, are invited to attend one of the training sessions. In the case of the one at Ushaw College, which is residential, there would normally be a fee; although in cases of hardship, this may be waived.

Contact: The Latin Mass Society
Tel 020 7404 7484