Sunday 28 December 2014

Catholic laypeople must have maturity to speak up about bad things happening at highest levels in the church

This morning, I spoke during Mass in the parish church of St Theresa of the Child Jesus, in north west London, about the Extraordinary Synod on the Family in Rome last October.

Interestingly, my talk was very well received ... Interesting, because I spoke very directly about the teaching of Jesus Christ on the indissolubility of marriage and on the church's unchanging, unchangeable teaching on contraception and on homosexual acts. I have never had so many parishioners approach with me to express their appreciation after a talk. Even though I was speaking as a Catholic, I made it clear that these issues are profoundly related to the battle against the culture of death. I also emphasised that Catholics must be mature enough to speak up when there are clearly serious problems at the highest levels of the Church.

Here's what I said - just after Cardinal Nichols's pastoral letter on the Synod had been presented by Fr Richard Parsons, the parish priest ...
Fr Richard has kindly invited me to say a few words about Voice of the Family, an international initiative of the Catholic laity involving 23 pro-life and pro-family organizations from five continents around the world. We formed Voice of the Family in order to offer to our bishops our expertise and resources before, during and after the Extraordinary Synod on the Family, throughout most of October in Rome - a process which will culminate in the Ordinary Synod on the Family in October 2015. A team of us spent much of October in Rome, meeting and briefing many of the Synod Fathers, and writing reports on what was happening, both the good and the bad, and a team of us will be going to Rome for virtually the whole of October next year, doing the same job.

The following unchanging truths lie at the heart of the work of Voice of the Family:
  • Sacramental marriage, binding parents together in an indissoluble union, is the greatest protector of children both born and unborn.
  • The artificial separation of the unitive and procreative dimensions of the sexual act, in other words contraception and in vitro fertilisation, is a major cause of the culture of death.
  • Parents are the primary educators of their children and it is through the education and formation of parents, and future parents, that the culture of life will be built.
Why do Catholic laymen and laywomen consider they have the right to go to Rome to advise their bishops on family issues, or advise them at all for that matter? Surely it’s the exclusive job of the Holy Spirit to guide the Church over the centuries?

Like Fr Richard, I want to make three points, but time is short so I will just make two!

Firstly, the Holy Spirit, Who guides the Church, guides the Church through people - through Fr Richard’s homilies, for example, and, according to Blessed John Henry Newman, through all sorts of people in the Church and in all sorts of ways: In July 1859, Blessed John Henry Newman, one of the patrons of St Theresa’s parish, wrote in an article in The Rambler: "I think I am right in saying that the tradition of the Apostles, committed to the whole Church in its various constituents and functions ... manifests itself variously at various times: sometimes by the mouth of the [bishops], sometimes by the doctors, sometimes by the people,sometimes by liturgies, rites, ceremonies, and customs, by events, disputes, movements, and all those other phenomena which are comprised under the name of history. It follows", Blessed John Henry Newman said, "that none of those channels of tradition may be treated with disrespect ...”

Secondly, how many Catholic lay men and women are there, worldwide, who are not acutely aware, in their own family lives of the crisis in family life? We Catholic parents and Catholic grandparents really are experts in this field because of the many crises we ourselves experience in our own families. In this connection, it was good to see in the final report of last October’s Extraordinary Synod on the Family, a section which clearly links this crisis in family life to a “crisis of faith” throughout the Church.

I have referred to a good aspect of the final report of the Extraordinary Synod on the Family. Unfortunately there are bad aspects too: Cardinal Raymond Burke said the interim report was “a gravely flawed document and does not express adequately the teaching and discipline of the Church and, in some aspects, propagates doctrinal error and a false pastoral approach”, a view shared by many other leading cardinals and archbishops. I am very sorry to share with you that some of these elements remain in the final report.

Catholic laypeople, in the light of the worldwide crisis of faith, must be mature enough to recognize that bad things can happen even at the highest levels of the Church, and we must be confident in speaking out when that's the situation.

In addition, it is striking that the final report of a synod purportedly on the theme, “The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization”, fails to mention abortion, in-vitro fertilisation, embryo experimentation, gender theory, euthanasia, assisted suicide and threats to the freedom to live according to the moral law and the teaching of the Catholic Church.

Another grave omission is that there is no mention of the severity of the threat currently faced by parents. The most pressing threats, which vary from nation to nation, include:

- The denial of the right of parents to control what their children are taught in schools i.e.
through the imposition by the state of compulsory anti-life, anti-family sex education.
- The provision of access to abortion and contraception in schools without parental knowledge or consent, including in Catholic schools
- The requirement for teachers to instruct children in the new definition of ‘marriage’ in
countries where ‘same-sex marriage’ has been legalised - a policy being enacted in some Catholic primary schools in London

The failure of the final document to address these issues is a grave betrayal of families.

The threats to freedom outlined above are not the only threats faced by families. Cases are multiplying all over the world of individuals who have seen their livelihoods destroyed or threatened by a vigorous and intolerant homosexual lobby which demands complete approval and compliance. Cases include attempts to force Bed and Breakfast owners to accept homosexual couples sharing beds on their premises and to force bakers to bake cakes celebrating ‘same-sex marriages’. We have also seen employees punished for expressing their views on ‘same-sex marriage’ and homosexuality and religious ministers and street preachers arrested for sharing their traditional Christian views. Most seriously of all we see children being indoctrinated into the same-sex rights agenda in their schools. All of this has developed against a longer term background of threats to the right to conscientious objection to involvement in grave moral offences such as abortion.

Concern is growing across the Catholic world. Parents fear that their children will grow up in a world where they will have to face great hardships if they strive to live according to the natural moral law and the teaching of the Church. Yet the authors of the Family Synod final report, in Section 6, merely refer to the “general feeling of powerlessness” felt by families without any discussion of these realities.

Whilst in Rome, our Voice of the Family, which included Josephine, my wife, and myself, had the privilege of meeting outstanding, courageous bishops from Australasia and Oceania, Africa, north America and Europe - men who were prepared to insist on the unchanging and unchangeable teachings of Jesus Christ on marriage, and on the unchanging unchangeable doctrine of the church on intrinsic evil of homosexual acts, on contraceptive drugs and devices, and on parents as the primary educators of their children. These good pastors need our prayers since they are up against powerful forces within church structures.

For a fuller analysis of the problems do check out the Voice of the Family website details of which I am happy to share with you after Mass as well as tell you how you can help.

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Sunday 21 December 2014

Voice of the Family, a worldwide lay Catholic initiative, backs Cardinal Burke's clarion call to promote truth on marriage

The final report of last October's family synod at the Vatican is seriously flawed and contains grave omissions which represent a serious danger to our families, to the sanctity of human life, and to the pro-life movement worldwide, according to an analysis produced by Voice of the Family, a lay Catholic initiative.

This final report forms part of the "Lineamenta" - that is the text written for next October's general synod (2015) - on which there will be worldwide consultation.

Voice of the Family - an initiative of Catholic laity from 23 major pro-life/pro-family organisations on 6 continents - has produced an in-depth analysis of the final report (relatio synodi), which looks at the serious philosophical problems underlying the approach adopted in the report. It also considers the grave omissions. It is striking that the final report of a synod purportedly on the theme, “The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization”, fails to mention abortion, in-vitro fertilisation, embryo experimentation, gender theory, euthanasia, assisted suicide and threats to the freedom to live according to the moral law and the teaching of the Catholic Church.

Meanwhile, since the 2014 October Synod, Cardinal Burke has been tireless in his defence and explanation of Catholic doctrine on marriage. In an interview last week (19th December) in Le Figaro magazine, His Eminence says:
"I am ... very worried, and I call upon all Catholics, laymen, priests, and bishops, to involve themselves, from now up to the upcoming Synodal assembly, in order to highlight the truth on marriage."
Here is an extract from Le Figaro interview:
Were you shocked with what took place in the Synod?

The synod was a difficult experience. There was a line, that of Cardinal Kasper, we might say, behind which lined up those who had in their hands the direction of the synod. In fact, the intermediate document [relatio post disceptationem] seemed to have had already been written before the interventions of the Synodal Fathers! And according to a single line, in favor of the position of Cardinal Kasper... The homosexual question was also introduced, which has no relation with the question of marriage, by looking for positive elements in it. Another highly troubling point: the intermediate text made no reference to Scripture, nor to the Tradition of the Church, nor to the teaching of John Paul II on conjugal love. It was therefore highly off-putting. As also the fact that in the final report were kept paragraphs on homosexuality and the remarried divorcees that had not however been adopted by the requisite majority of bishops.

What are the stakes in what has become a controversy?

In an age filled with confusion, as we see with Gender Theory, we need the teaching of the Church on marriage. Yet, we are on the contrary pushed towards a direction for the admission to communion of divorced and remarried persons. Without mentioning this obsession with lightening the procedures of annulment of the marital bond. All this will lead de facto to a kind of "Catholic divorce", and to the weakening of the indissolubility of marriage, whose principle is nonetheless reaffirmed. However, the Church must defend marriage, and not weaken it. The indissolubility of marriage is not a penance, nor a suffering. It is a great beauty for those who live it, it is a source of joy. I am therefore very worried, and I call upon all Catholics, laymen, priests, and bishops, to involve themselves, from now up to the upcoming Synodal assembly, in order to highlight the truth on marriage.

Inspired by Cardinal Burke's clarion call to all Catholics to promote the truth about marriage, I urge you to read and act upon the Voice of the Family report - which concludes:

Action points
  • Please join the Voice of the Family prayer campaign for the Cardinals and Bishops attending the Ordinary Synod in 2015; may they reaffirm the Catholic faith as taught by the Magisterium for twenty centuries
  • Please write to your bishops and parish clergy and make them aware of the problems with the approach being adopted at the Synod and ask them reaffirm the Catholic faith

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Thursday 18 December 2014

SPUC branch puts the unborn child at centre of Christmas celebration

The Rutland and Melton branch of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children has, for many years, entered a tree in their town's Christmas Tree festival at St. Mary's C of E Church.

Frances Levett, SPUC's local leader in Melton, tells me:
"The festival, as usual, was supported by hundreds of local organisations and individuals who entered almost 1,000 trees in total, about 300 of which were large themed trees like our own.

"It is always a challenge to put anything pro-life in a public showcase without attracting accusations that we are causing offence. Round the tree was a ribbon asking visitors to question themselves, "When does life begin?"

"All credit must go to a new member, Ruth Escreet
Ruth also made silver bows with a tiny baby in the centre waving at us, and Sandra Ford made black and white baby photos. I hope you will agree that the result was elegant and tasteful, while making our pro-life point effectively. Perhaps a tribute to this may be found in the fact that the church included our tree as one in their children's quiz: "Find the tree with the baby on top". It's  interesting that they did not say, "The one with the foetus on top!"

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Wednesday 17 December 2014

Glasgow midwives lose fight for conscientious objection

The Supreme Court has rejected the opportunity to uphold the right of conscientious objection for senior midwives who refuse to supervise abortions performed on a labour ward. Today's decision issued in the Supreme Court has been condemned by those who backed the Glasgow midwives' fight for their right to work in the NHS without being involved in abortions.

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) which paid the midwives’ legal expenses throughout the case has said that senior midwives who refuse to kill babies could be forced to leave the profession.

Mary Doogan and Connie Wood (pictured right), the midwives in the case, commented on the judgment:

“We are both saddened and extremely disappointed with today's verdict from the Supreme Court and can only imagine the subsequent detrimental consequences that will result from today's decision on staff of conscience throughout the UK.

“Despite it having been recognised that the number of abortions on the labour ward at our hospital is in fact a tiny percentage of the workload, which in turn could allow the accommodation of conscientious objection with minimal effort, this judgment, with its constraints and narrow interpretation, has resulted in the provision of a conscience clause which now in practice is meaningless for senior midwives on a labour ward.”

Paul Tully, general secretary of SPUC said:

“The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children acknowledges the great debt that the whole pro-life community owes to Mary Doogan and Connie Wood for fighting this battle over the past seven years. They have fought not only for their own careers, but for all current and future members of the profession who uphold the right to life of everyone, from the time of conception, without discrimination. We are bitterly disappointed for them.

“Today's decision sadly makes it likely that senior midwives who refuse to kill babies will be forced to leave the profession. Junior midwives might still be able to work in labour wards where abortions are performed but they will be restricted to 'staff midwife' status at best. They could easily be placed in an impossible situation by pro-abortion superiors, and would be unable to receive promotion to a more senior role without fear of being required to violate their consciences. This will affect anyone who objects to abortion, of any religion or none. It will create a second-class status in midwifery for those who only deliver babies and don't kill them.

“Furthermore, the court has used the opportunity of this case to decide that the conscience clause in the Abortion Act does not apply to General Practitioners and that hospital doctors asked to prescribe abortion drugs will not be covered by the conscience clause. We anticipate that this will lead to renewed efforts by health officials to force doctors who have a conscientious objection to abortion either to compromise their respect for human life or to leave the profession. SPUC will support and encourage doctors to resist any such bullying approach.

“The pro-abortion lobby has long argued that conscientious objectors should be required to refer women seeking legal abortion to other practitioners. Bodies such as the Department of Health have qualified this by saying that this only applies when the statutory grounds for a legal abortion apply, but the Supreme Court has said that any medical professional who refuses to provide an abortion should arrange for a referral to someone else who will do so. This seems to go far beyond the scope of the Abortion Act, and furthermore is not even an issue there was any need for the Court to decide in this case.

“The Court has nevertheless said that midwives and doctors with conscientious objections are obliged to refer abortion patients to colleagues who don't object to abortion. This goes further than the General Medical Council, for instance, whose current guidance Personal Belief and Medical Practice says that doctors should refer patients to another doctor, but does not require them to check their colleague's pro-abortion credentials.”

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Tuesday 16 December 2014

Joseph, SPUC's much-loved dispatch officer, retires after 24 years' service

Joseph Chiang, SPUC's dispatch officer, retired yesterday after nearly 25 years' loyal service to unborn children. Much loved by the Society's staff and volunteers, we gathered to celebrate this great servant and friend of the most vulnerable members of the community. Joseph is pictured in the centre, wearing a crucifix, standing in front of our youngest and tallest member of staff, Isaac Spencer.

Liz Foody, SPUC's dispatch manager and Joseph's line manager throughout most of that time, paid a lovely tribute to Joseph. Here's part of what she said:
"Joseph was born and raised in Uganda. In 1968, just three years before Idi Amin came to power, his grandmother, father and mother and 8 brothers and sisters moved to Birmingham where they lived with an aunt and uncle and their four children.

"He joined SPUC's staff in 1990 and has worked for us ever since.

"Joseph has travelled the world on many pilgrimages. Many a time he would leave work, travel overnight on Friday night to visit a Holy Shrine travelling back on the Sunday night and go straight into work on Monday morning.

"Joseph was always a very good time-keeper: First in, in the mornings, always on the dot of 8:15.

"Joseph, on behalf SPUC, I thank you most sincerely and wish many you year of retirement to spend with your family in Birmingham and of course happy birthday from us all."
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Thursday 4 December 2014

Foetal alcohol judgment is anti-rational

The Court of Appeal's judgment today in the foetal alcohol syndrome case is anti-rational. SPUC has responded to the judgment in the case of CP v CICA http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/judgments/cp-v-cica/

The judges said that they thought babies who are victims of violence should not be compensated by the state in the way that other victims of violence are. Previously, children affected by FAS have received compensation. In today's judgment in the 'CP' case, the court has upheld cost-cutting changes in the Criminal Injury Compensation Authority practices and prioritised finance above welfare of children and expectant mothers.

Paul Tully, SPUC's general secretary, told the media earlier today:
"This cruel judgment not only leaves disabled children without just recompense, it flies in the face of common knowledge about when life begins and - it is anti-rational.

The judges use complex legal argument to explain why 80 children and babies whose lives are blighted by their mother's extremely heavy drinking in pregnancy will not receive compensation.

There is no need to prosecute any mother in order for the Criminal Injury Compensation Authority to award compensation to the babies who have been injured. Indeed, no-one, so far as we know, has even suggested that this is necessary.

In order to reach its decision the court relied on arcane legal rules which say that although unborn babies are distinct from their mother from the time of conception, they are not in law 'other' people or 'human persons'. This approach is anti-rational: it denies the known facts about human life and how babies develop.

The judges noted that children who die after birth because of injuries inflicted before they are born can be regarded as victims of crime. But the judges said that damage inflicted during pregnancy (such as alcohol poisoning) cannot be regarded as causing harm to the baby after birth because all the damage is done in the womb. According to the judges, the post-natal effects of fetal alcohol syndrome, which can include heart problems, learning difficulties, musculo-skeletal abnormalities and epilepsy, do not count as additional damage caused after birth.

This kind of argument seeks to find a difference where there is no distinction. It has no place in a legal judgment.

English law remains in denial about biology by refusing to recognise the human person in the womb. People start in life as embryos who grow into fetuses, who are called 'babies' when they are born and 'adults' when they are fully grown. Our judges are some of the most intelligent people in society, yet they deny the facts of human biology that children know."
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