westminster record october 2014

WestminsterRecord October 2014 | 20p

Bishop Nicholason London’sDiversity

Page 4 Pages 6 & 7

Schools CelebrateAnniversaries

Lourdes Pilgrims‘Tea Party’

Page 5

In Pope Francis’ words, the Extraordinary Synod is ‘being convened todiscuss the theme of “pastoral challenges to the family in the context ofevanglisation”. Indeed, in our day the Church is called to proclaim theGospel by confronting the new and urgent pastoral needs facing the family.’

In a recent press conference Cardinal Vincent emphasised this purposewhen he said that this is about rediscovering the gift of God’s mercy, 'a returnto that lived sense of the compassion and mercy of God' which balances it withthe necessary response of forgiveness and conversion on the part of those whoreceive mercy.

He also spoke about the need for refreshing and deepening theunderstanding of the sacrament of marriage: 'A marriage, in Catholicunderstanding, when embraced in the right frame, is an act of God where thehusband and wife become ministers of God's mercy to each other.'

The Cardinal explained, however, that this understanding must begin withthe realities of the situation, when two people with their individual histories,gifts and wounds are called upon to come together to form a new reality.

‘Sometimes relationships break down,’ he went on to say, ‘we must thenhelp the couple confront the pain and distress caused by that breakdown ofthe relationship.’

He went on to speak about the need for discernment in situations wherenew relationships are formed after a breakdown. This will be vital informulating a pastoral response to those situations.

Cardinal Vincent then spoke about marriage as the basis for the family;the support the Church offers to families should 'rightly take its shapearound the children' and the Church should work in partnership with theirparents. To that end, this Synod is about the family, its place in society andthe challenges faced by the family in daily life.

He said that there is a ‘strong invitation to focus on the children’.Breakdowns in relationships can cause families to live in isolation, so it isimportant to consider the role of grandparents in the support offered tothese families.

Continued on back page

From 4 to 19 October the Extraordinary Synod on the Family will take place in Rome. In this article we take alook at what a synod is and some of the themes that may feature prominently at this one.

Come, Holy Spirit

Editorial Westminster Record | October 2014

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those most in need. They willdo whatever they can to makesure that the young people ofthe parish are prepared for thesacraments and that engagedcouples are prepared formarriage. They will spend longhours explaining and teachingthe Faith to those coming to asense of faith in their lives, andpreparing their homilies. And at75 years of age most, but not all,will retire.

Even then, many priests willcontinue to help out, for as longas they are able, ‘supplying’ inparishes when the local priestsare away or ill. Priesthood is alifelong commitment to service.In a priestly ministry that mayspan 50 or more years, mostpriests will have never had theopportunity to save much fromtheir stipends. We need to makesure that they are properlyprovided for in their retirement.Their needs are usually veryfew, but suitableaccommodation needs to befound and, eventually, that maymean sheltered housing and

We are so fortunate in ourdiocese to have so manyparishes, over two hundred ofthem, each with their own seriesof Masses on Sundays andweekdays. We have over threehundred priests, both diocesanand religious, who are at theheart of each parish community,working hard to ensure that ourspiritual needs are met. Theywill baptise, marry and burymembers of their communities,providing pastoral care for

Cardinal Vincent welcomedthe Vatican Cricket team toArchbishop’s House on 12 September as part of their‘Light of Faith Tour’. Thecricketers were accompaniedby Mr John McCarthy, theAustralian Ambassador to theHoly See, whose idea it was tocreate a cricket team for theVatican. Earlier in the week,the team had an audience with Pope Francis who signed a cricket bat for themwhich will be auctioned at alater date.

The newly-assembled team,captained by Englishman Fr Tony Currer and managedby Irishman Fr EamonnO’Higgins, is comprised ofseminarians, deacons andpriests based in Rome. Theyplayed four matches in the UKin September, the final one

nursing care. The great generosity shown

through Growing in Faith hasgone a long way to securingthe future for some 80Westminster priests now inretirement, giving the diocese areal opportunity to developaccommodation projects. Butonce a year we have a Sundaywhen we remember in prayerand thanksgiving the priestsnow retired from ministry. Thisyear it falls on 9 November,coincidentally alsoRemembrance Sunday. Theretiring collection that dayremains essential for theongoing costs of providing forour retired priests’ welfare.

Remembering the manytimes in our lives when wemay have depended on thegenerosity and response ofpriests in their service to us,how generous can we now beto them in their need?

Repaying a Lifetime of Service

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Vatican Cricket Team on tourbeing a religious showdownagainst the Church ofEngland’s cricket team inCanterbury on Friday, 19 September. They lost aclosely contested match by 6 wickets, the Anglican teamscoring the winning runs with5 balls to spare.

The proceeds from the gamewere donated to the GlobalFreedom Network, an anti-trafficking campaign which hasthe backing of Catholics,Anglicans and Muslims.

After meeting all of theplayers and hearing about theinception of the team, CardinalVincent remembered fondly hisown days playing cricket inRome when he was aseminarian. He described thefriendly rivalry on the pitchbetween the differentinternational colleges and how

sport fostered a great sense ofcommunity and friendshipamong the seminarians whocame to Rome from all over theworld. The team hope this willbe the first tour of many, withAmbassador McCarthy lookingto the cricketing powerhousesin the East for the next tour.

By Chris O’Callaghan

Westminster Record | October 2014



News

A Mass to commemorate the125th anniversary of the GreatDock Strike and to givethanks for the work ofCardinal Manning in helpingto bring the strike to an endwas celebrated on 14September at St Mary and StMichael Catholic Church,Commercial Road in EastLondon.

Organised by CaritasAnchor House, the Mass andreception which followed were

Commemorating the ‘Cardinal’s Peace’

a celebration of the legacy ofCardinal Henry Manning andhis role in negotiating the‘Cardinal’s Peace’, which wassigned on 14 September 1889in a local school in Poplar.

In the homily, CardinalVincent referred to CardinalManning as ‘the one who setout the principles and valueson which that settlement wasachieved.’

Looking back to an earlierspeech which Cardinal

Manning had made in 1874,and in which he anticipated allthe arguments of CatholicSocial Teaching, CardinalVincent said: ‘For a person'swork, their labour, he claimedthe same rights as those givento a person's property, callingthat work “capital in the truestsense”. In addition he arguedthat it was the duty of everyemployer to recognise thecrucial importance of aworker's family life and indeedtheir need for rest.’

Speaking about the dignityof work, Cardinal Vincentwent on to say: ‘The ways inwhich we come together, in theactivities which make up ourlife in society, are of course thetesting grounds of the practicalacknowledgment of thisdignity and of how we worktogether for a common goodthat excludes nobody. Whatthe Great Dock Strike helpedto establish was thatrecognition of this dignity wasshockingly lacking in thepatterns of employment inforce in the London docks atthat time, and, I may add as a

Police Guild MassCardinal Vincent celebrated aMass at Westminster Cathedralon 6 September marking thecentenary of the foundation ofthe Catholic Police Guild.

The Mass was attended bymembers of the Guild and theirfamilies, representing differentparts of the country. Amongthose in attendance was SirPeter Fahy, Chief Constable ofGreater Manchester.

In his homily CardinalVincent applauded themembers for applying Christianprinciples to their work. Usingthe words of Pope St John PaulII in describing the calling of theGuild members, he said it wasto ‘enthusiastically serve thecause of civic harmony andwell-being, with sensitivity andChristian hope’.

The Cardinal went on tospeak about British values oftolerance and democracy andtheir roots in Christian values.‘Tolerance is the fruit of

John Francis Bentley, thearchitect of WestminsterCathedral, died in 1902 beforeit was finished. His assistant,John Marshall, set up apartnership which continuedBentley's work and he becamethe second architect in chargeof the Cathedral. At the time ofBentley’s death the structurewas virtually complete butthere was little internaldecoration. Marshall thusoversaw the completion ofmosaics and the carvedmedallions by the Westentrance doors and thenapproached Eric Gill to carvethe Stations of the Cross.

In the Treasures of theCathedral Exhibition we have abronze Crucifix andCandlesticks made for theChapel of the Holy Souls in1909-1910. These were designedat the time when Marshall wassenior partner of Bentley, Sonand Marshall. We also have acopper gilt Monstrance designedby him at that time. The knop (asmall decorative knob) on thestem has a cameo of Our Ladyand the oval frame is made ofsodalite set with red stones andfoiled crystals. It was presentedto the Cathedral by Elena andAnita O’Callaghan.

Treasures ofthe Cathedral

acknowledging the intrinsicvalue of every other person,’ hesaid, ‘and it grows best, to itsfullness, in the good soil of ourCatholic faith.’

At the end of Mass, assistedby CPG Chairman AndrewNattrass and Secretary ChrisSloan, the Cardinal presentedmedals to Fellows of the Guild,members who have providedextensive and dedicated service.The CPG Emblem on the medalconsists of a Cross within whichthe words Catholic Police Guildencircle the ancient Christiansymbol of a fish, with the wordfor fish spelt out in Greek(IXθUS) underneath theemblem.

Fr Barry Lomax, NationalChaplain, also presentedCardinal Vincent with one ofthree medallions especially castfor the centenary year, one otherhaving been presented to PopeFrancis during the Guild’scentenary pilgrimage in May.

The CPG is the the oldestvocational guild, founded in1914 as the Metropolitan CityPolice Guild in Westminster tocater for the spiritual needs ofpolice men and women.

In 1974 it became a nationalassociation for England andWales and more recentlymembership has beenextended to lay staff andcommunity support officers.

Fr Barry Lomax CPG Chaplain presents CardinalVincent with one of three commemorative medalsespecially cast for the centenary year.

person from Liverpool, notonly in London.’

He went on to say, ‘CatholicSocial Teaching continues todevelop these fundamentalprinciples of the priority ofhuman dignity and theimportance of the commongood, across a wide spectrumof concerns.’

At the reception, severalguests, including Labour PeerBaron Glasman, GMBPresident Kevin Flanagan, andChief Executive of CitizensUKNeil Jameson, paid tributeCardinal Manning and thelegacy of Catholic SocialTeaching.

Cardinal Manning’s connection to east end dockers.

If you would like to visit theTreasures of the Cathedralexhibition and see some ofJohn Marshall’s work, ticketsare available from theCathedral bookshop. The Exhibition is free onWednesdays in October.

Another in our continuingseries about the Treasures

by Anne Marie Micallef

Westminster Record September 2011News Westminster Record | October 2014



Bishop Nicholas recentlyspoke to Vatican Radio aboutthe challenges andopportunities of his newministry. Here we give someextracts from the interview:

‘I had the marvellousexperience of celebrating sevenConfirmations in my first 15 to20 days, and I was struck bythe diversity of young peopleand parishes overall. In the Isleof Dogs, the parish priest saysit’s remarkable and exciting tosee the number of Catholicsamong the many immigrantswho come from differentcontinents. They look for aparish and the right kind ofschool for their children andthey’re looking to us to fulfilthese needs.’

Bishop Nicholas on London’s Diversity

St Monica’s, Hoxton celebrates 150 years

‘Our Church, along withthe other Churches in that area,needs to grasp this change indemographics as anecumenical opportunity andwe must also be respectful ofthe other faiths representedwithin our community. I needto find out who else has placesof worship in that area,because I’m a bishop for themtoo and I want them to feelthat we are part of the samecommunity working out verysimilar needs and concerns.’

‘One of the initiatives goingon nationally is a pilot projectcalled Crossing the Threshold,a very interesting and inspiredprocess for inviting parishes toorganise themselves to reachout to people who are Catholicand might want to take asecond look at what it meansto belong to the local Catholiccommunity. I’m interested indiscussing with parishes howthey can be inviting andwelcoming, always in the spiritof suggesting and proposing,because a parish has to want totake on that project for theprocess to work.’

The podcast of the interview withBishop Nicholas can be accessedfrom: http://rcdow.org.uk/news/bishop-nicholas-speaks-to-vatican-radio/

Mgr Henry Manning on a barrel

In his opening remarksduring the homily at Hoxton’s150th Anniversary Mass, theCardinal mentioned that hispredecessor, Henry Manning,had to stand on a barrel topreach at the laying of thefoundation stone of St Monica’s, Hoxton, on 20 September 1864. The onlyobstacle for the Cardinal wasscaffolding in the sanctuary,due to the restoration of theoriginal Victorian stencilledscheme. ‘The scaffolding’, hesaid, ‘is a reminder that thelife of a parish is always anunfinished business, andever-changing’.

In the case of St Monica’s,like many inner city parishes, ithas changed from being aparish of largely Irish and Irishdescent population to beingmulti-ethnic: about 50nationalities, with a large WestAfrican component. This wasreflected in a vibrant Mass,which featured an offertoryprocession with parishionerscoming forward with theirweekly collection and gifts tothe sound of an African chant.The music at Mass was aneclectic mix of English chantfrom the Roman Missal, theMissa de Angelis Gloria,conventional hymns, andworship songs. Peoplecontinued to sing and clap longafter the celebrants had retired

to the sacristy. A party followedin the school hall.

Not only was the parishcelebrating 150 years, but theAugustinians, who foundedand continue to administer theparish, were celebrating theirreturn to London in 1864 afterthe expulsion in 1538 of the‘Austin Friars’, as they wereknown in the Middle Ages.Hoxton priory and church thusbecame the first permanentrevived foundation in Englandand the Cardinal paid homageto the important role played bythe religious orders inestablishing parishes in Londonafter the restoration of thehierarchy in 1850.

©Daniel Cichy

By Fr Paul Graham OSA

©Vatican Information Service




News

One of the highlights of thesummer is the diocesanpilgrimage to Lourdes. In this,the Silver Jubilee year, a record1,200 pilgrims fromWestminster joined CardinalVincent and Cardinal Cormacfor a memorable week at theMarian shrine.

Throughout the year, severalevents take place around thediocese to give pilgrims andvolunteers a chance to renew

Cardinal Vincent recently spoke out about thechallenges facing Catholic education in theUK today. In his homily at the Masscelebrating the centenary of the CardinalVaughan Memorial School, the Cardinalbegan by referring to the source of oppositionto Catholic education in the previous centuryand Cardinal Bourne's response:

'Cardinal Bourne’s time was one of profound and widespreadopposition to Catholic Education, not from a secularist standpoint,but from the dominant Protestant Liberalism of the day. CardinalBourne had a long battle, conducted very skilfully, to defend andestablish the position of Catholic Education as a true and properexpression of parental choice and therefore having a true andproper place in a democratic society. Bourne won the day, and soyour school exists, as a memorial to his illustrious predecessor.’

Cardinal Vincent then presented the contribution of Catholiceducation to society in our own age and the threat that Catholicschools face today.

'Our battles for Catholic Education today are less intense butreal. We live in a very plural society in which cohesion and mutualunderstanding is so important. Catholic schools recognise this.Thus we put forward systematically the principles on which agood society can be based, drawing on the wealth of CatholicSocial Teaching, a treasure that others are beginning to recognise.In the same vein, we have long recognised the importance ofstudying the beliefs and practices of other religions, doing so fromthe constructive basis of a living faith in God. If there is a problemwith religious literacy today, with ignorance of other religions, asmany are suggesting not least in light of the problems faced inBirmingham, the problem does not lie in faith schools, in Catholicschools. It lies elsewhere, wherever religious belief is treated in aminimal manner, or even disparaged. That is where the problem isto be tackled.'

Cardinal Defends Catholic Education

A witness to the Faith

The annual Two Cathedrals’Procession of the BlessedSacrament takes place onSaturday 18 October. Theprocession will begin at 1.30pmat Westminster Cathedralmaking its way acrossWestminster Bridge to

St George’s Cathedral inSouthwark, where Benedictionwill be given at approximately2.45pm.

Now in its fifth year, thisannual Procession was firstobserved as a direct result of thevisit of Pope Emeritus Benedict

XVI to the UK in September2010 as an act of thanksgivingfor the graces received duringthe visit, including thebeatification of Blessed JohnHenry Newman (whose FeastDay is commemorated on 9 October).

One of the intentions for thisyear will be to pray for peace inIraq, Syria and throughout theMiddle East.

This year the procession willbe led by Bishop NicholasHudson, who served as a priestof the Diocese of Southwarkbefore being ordained this year

as Auxiliary Bishop forWestminster. In his own personBishop Nicholas will thereforebe a bridge between the dioceseson that day.All are invited to come andwitness to the Faith and tohonour the Lord’s presence inthe Blessed Sacrament.

Lourdes Pilgrims Party

their acquaintance and to raisemuch-needed funds to assistthose who may not otherwisebe able to afford to join thepilgrimage.

On Saturday 6 Septemberthe first of these events, the teaparty, was held in the groundsof Heythrop College. It was amemorable afternoon of music,games, fun, food and drink.Cardinal Vincent joined theguests, sampling wares from the

cake stall and awarding medalsto the winners of the games.

The next event is the SilverJubilee concert on 21 Novemberat Our Lady of Victories,Kensington.

For further informationabout this and otherfundraising events, contactGerald Daly on 020 7798 9173 [email protected].

Education Westminster Record | October 2014



The Cardinal VaughanMemorial School celebratedthe centenary of its foundationwith Mass in WestminsterCathedral on 19 September.Cardinal Vincent was theprincipal celebrant, along withBishop John Sherrington and22 diocesan priests, some ofwhom are former students ofthe school. The Mass wasattended by students and staffpast and present with musicled by the school’s brass groupand Schola Cantorum.

Cardinal Vaughan Centenary Celebrated

Members of the Vaughan Schola at the Mass

In his homily CardinalVincent congratulated theschool on its centenary, saying:'I congratulate and thank theSchool for the fine traditions ithas fashioned and maintainedover these 100 years since itsmodest founding on 21 September 1914. I thank theSchool, and all involved in it,for its fidelity to a foundingvision, together with itsdevelopment in response toconstantly changing demands.'

He went on to address theschool community: 'CardinalVaughan School is bothsteadfast and innovative, apoint of real strength in thediocesan network of schoolsand one willing to play its part,as called for by its motto, inloving and serving fellowCatholic schools in theDiocese.'

On the same day, one of theschool’s PE teachers, ChrisBailey, completed his ‘Vaughanto Run’ challenge. Between 14 and 19 September he ran the

Sending your child to a Catholic secondary schoolwill be one of the best decisions you will make

As parents you are the firsteducators of your child andwith that responsibilitycomes choice and decisions.In the coming weeks youwill be making the veryimportant decision as towhat secondary school youwill send your child to andwhat will help themsucceed in the face of the

challenges of modern lifeand a fast-changing world.Coupled to that decision iswhether or not to send themto a Catholic secondaryschool. It may have been theright decision for you atprimary level, but perhapssecondary offers a differentset of circumstances andoptions.

Be confident that sendingyour child to a Catholicsecondary school will be one ofthe best decisions you will evermake. A Catholic secondaryschool is far more than itsacclaimed and recognisedachievement of academicstandards and reputation forexcellence. It is aboutformation. In the light ofgovernment changes toeducation in recent years,Catholic education hasmaintained its extraordinarysuccess and offers not analternative, but the standard towhich many aspire.

At the heart of Catholiceducation is the opportunityfor any child, regardless ofability, to grow in theirunderstanding of themselves,their relationship with othersand their relationship withGod. They will be in anenvironment where they areactively encouraged to shape acommunity of faith and live

out their values and yours. Weare preparing them not only tocope with life, but to shapetheir life and that of others.

Community is central toCatholic education and theneed to find meaning in theage of digital media and socialnetworks that surround themis so important and prevalent.Your child will thrive in acommunity that finds thatmeaning through prayer,liturgy and celebration. Theycan bring to the modern worlda value-based judgement thathas at its heart Gospel valuesand the teaching and exampleof Christ.

Catholic education iscentred on Christ as its mentorand guide. All our schoolscelebrate their strengthsthrough service tocommunities, inspiringachievement, being witnessesto faith and recognising thediversity and equality of eachone of us. By choosing Catholic

secondary education you areallowing the high academicstandards and attainment youseek for your child to beintertwined with a faith-basedjudgment system that bothbrings them closer to God andmakes them eager to improvethe world around them. Manyof our schools are at the cuttingedge of academic excellenceand progress. Your child willflourish in that environmentand bring them closer toknowing Christ and knowingthemselves. That is indeed theGood News, and why Catholicschools exist.

193 miles from CardinalHerbert Vaughan’s birthplacein Gloucester to his finalresting place in the Cathedralwhich he founded.

The funds raised will bedonated to Aid to the Churchin Need and the GoodShepherd Project which helpsprovide a place of safety andeducation for 990 local refugeechildren on theSudanese/Eritrean border. Hewas joined along the route by anumber of past and presentstudents, staff and well-wishers, passing through fiveCatholic dioceses and overthirty parishes.

For more information on thechallenge, please seewww.vaughantorun.comDonations can be made onlinethrough the Vaughan’sJustGiving page:www.justgiving.com/vaughantorun/

Students of St Ignatius College at their recent anniversary Mass

By J P Morrison, Director of Education




Education

On 10 September St IgnatiusCollege marked 120 yearssince its foundation with aMass celebrated by CardinalVincent at the school.Founded by the Society ofJesus in Stamford Hill in1894, the school moved to itscurrent site in Enfield in 1968and continues to enjoy astrong relationship withStamford Hill, withchaplains from the Jesuitcommunity visiting theschool regularly.

Cardinal Vincent, in hishomily, spoke about thevision that foundingHeadmaster Fr AloysiusCortie must have had whenhe first taught the 40 boys under his care.Referring to the day’s Gospelreading; ‘Fr Cortie would nothave been able to gaze intothe future or foresee futureevents; yet, he still had thecourage to sow the seeds thatwould bear fruit, 30, 60 and100-fold, over a century later.’

Today the school boasts a

student population of 1,200boys, and four girls newlyadmitted to the sixth formthis academic year. AsDirector of Education for theDiocese and formerHeadteacher JP Morrisonexplains: ‘The schoolcontinues to go from strengthto strength. It has achieved itsbest-ever results in recentexaminations.’

During the offertoryprocession, pupils broughtforward a microscope, aguitar and a football as

symbols of their achievementsand the achievements of theirpredecessors over thedecades. The school’sillustrious alumni includeCardinal Heenan, filmdirector Alfred Hitchcock,Beatles producer GeorgeMartin and journalist BrianHanrahan, to name just a few.

Showcasing some of thistalent, a new mosaiccelebrating the anniversary,designed by Assistant HeadCatherine Goodwin andcreated with the help of somestudents and Art Start inEdmonton, was blessed by

Cardinal Vincent. The mosaicincorporates images of St Ignatius of Loyola, theJesuit saints from whom eachclass takes its name, as well asreferences to Stamford Hill,the connection with St Ignatius Prep and PrimarySchool in Tanzania, and theschool badge. The culture ofconfidence, discipline andhospitality is evident in thewelcome given to visitors. Asthe new Executive HeadMichael Kelly explains, ‘It’s aspecial place with a sense ofwarmth and family, where all,students, staff and governors,serve one another.’

St Ignatius College Marks 120 Years

St Monica’s Catholic Primary School Turns 60

Cardinal Vincent celebrates Mass and, below left, a new mosaic celebrating the120th anniversary

On 17 September Cardinal Vincent visited St Monica’sCatholic Primary School, Southgate, to celebrate Mass as partof the school’s 60th anniversary celebrations.

A special Mass to mark the occasion was concelebrated byCanon Shaun Lennard, Fr Paulo Bagini, Fr Andrew Gallagher, Fr Philip Dyer-Perry, Fr John O’Leary and Fr John Moffat SJ, whois a nephew of the school’s first Headteacher. As well as thecurrent and fourth Headteacher Mrs Baptiste, the school'sprevious Head, Mr Ted Getley, was represented by his wife andson. Amongst invited guests, including governors and past staff,was Bernard Moger who was part of the Knights of St Columbacommittee which was instrumental in getting the Council toagree to build a school and Pat Bolger, the school’s first pupil.

Children from Years 1 to 6 attended the Mass and heard fromthe Cardinal how important it was to continue to welcome Jesusinto their hearts. After Mass, invited guests and staff were joinedby the Cardinal for afternoon tea and representatives from theschool’s past 60 years were able to share their experiences andmemories of St Monica’s.

The official 60th birthday for the school is on Thursday 13 November. Past pupils are invited to contact the school toshare their memories during this anniversary year.

By Michael Ross, Deputy Headteacher

See photos of youth events at:http://flickr.com/photos/catholicwestminster


Follow Westminster Youth Ministry on Facebook at:www.facebook.com/doywm

Follow Westminster YouthMinistry on Twitter at:twitter.com/dowym

To find out more about the YouthMinistry and experiences of our youngpeople at: wym.rcdow.org.uk.

Heading home on theUnderground a few days agoand flicking through theEvening Standard, my eyewas caught by a good newsstory.

The short piece entitled‘No trouble with YoungPeople’ was tucked awaytowards the bottom of theComments Section on page 15and easily overlooked; yet itwas a testament to the hardwork of countless people whosupport our young.

New government figuressuggest that our youth arebecoming more‘straightlaced’. Statisticscovering drink, drugs,smoking and teenagepregnancies are ‘fallingthrough the floor’, withreligious background beingsuggested as one of thepositive contributory factors.

It seems to me that themore we put in, the more weget out, and whilst this ishardly revolutionarythinking, our young peopledo always respond when wegive them time, offer supportand guidance, and treat themas the maturing generation.So it is down to us toencourage their development,with training at the top of ourpriorities.

I see that CAFOD isrunning a Young LeadershipTraining Course for SixthFormers, to gain a Certificatein Leadership by covering arange of topics, includingproject management,communications, decision-making and presentation. Theevidence of leadershipdevelopment comes throughinvolvement in social andjustice projects, precisely theareas where young peoplethrive. More information can

Director’s Spotlight ‘Let your glory shine out’be sourced by [email protected] or bycalling the CAFOD office on020 7095 5309.

I recently visited HighBarnet Parish to spend anevening with Fr JohnMcKenna, Mary Boland andtheir young people who hadserved as Redcaps at Lourdes.The evening was inspiringand I was there to see theBarnet Redcaps get theircertificates as a part of the StVincent de Paul VolunteeringProgramme. This is awonderful way for our youngpeople to get involved inactivities that support theirlocal community and for theirefforts to be recognised.

In a similar vein, we arehosting a Music MinistryTraining Day at the Centre forYouth Ministry on 12 Octoberas a part of our Young AdultsTraining Programme, havingpreviously organised dayscovering Public Speaking andMedia Management. We willcontinue to invest in thesetraining days for our youngpeople; if anyone has anyideas for future days, pleasedo get in touch.

I’m sure that there arecountless other examplesthroughout the diocese ofparishes and agenciessupporting our youth andthose young people workingtirelessly to help those aroundthem; the good news isn’tonly in the Evening Standard.

On 20 September, BishopJohn Sherrington celebratedthe second annualConfirmation Pilgrimage toWalsingham. He was joinedby 70 young people fromacross the Hertfordshireparishes who had received theSacrament of Confirmation inthe last year. Despite thecloudy weather, the day was abeautiful celebration of faithand growth.

The day started withmidday Mass in the Chapel ofReconciliation. Bishop Johnpreached on the miracle ofgrowth and on the call to besaints. Saturday was also thefeast of the Korean martyrs,and Bishop John quoted fromPope Francis’ recent visit toSouth Korea, showing how justas the Lord made his gloryshine forth in the heroicwitness of the martyrs, so toohe wants to make his gloryshine in our lives. Youngpeople from the diocese were

involved in all aspects of theMass, from reading andserving to the excellent musicprovided by pupils at by JohnHenry Newman School inStevenage.

The day also included atime for catechesis, with threespeakers bringing a new anddifferent perspective on livinglives of faith. Bishop Johnstarted with teaching on theRosary, sharing the story of hisRosary and what it means tohim; Michael and Anita, parishcatechists from WelwynGarden City, spoke about theirfamily and how Jesus is animportant member of it; and Fr Uchenna Odenigbo, Schoolchaplain at St Michael’s inGarston, closed the catechesisby talking about missionarydiscipleship, calling us to livelives of witness. His advicewas to ‘play, pray and serve’ inequal measure.

After catechesis, all walkedin silence the Holy Mile to thevillage of Walsingham. Thiswas a time of reflection tothink about all that hadhappened during the day.Finishing at the local parishchurch, John Henry NewmanSchool led us into a short time of Adoration andBenediction, which brought the day to an end.

Westminster Record | October 2014 Youth

‘Like living stones, letyourselves be built into aspiritual house’ (1 Peter 2:5).At the end of August wewelcomed a new team ofvolunteer and coremissionaries to our youthretreat centre at Spec. Manyof you will know that Specrecently moved from theformer Pastoral Centre atLondon Colney to newaccommodation at WaxwellHouse in Pinner. It struck mewhen I met our new team ofyoung missionaries that theyhad come not only to live inour new house, but that theywere also being called to alsoform a kind of ‘spiritualhouse’ of which the NewTestament speaks.

These words of St Peterwere probably part of aninstruction to the baptised.He encourages them to form ahouse in the power of theHoly Spirit they have justreceived. It is the Holy Spiritwho makes this family orcommunity ‘spiritual’. Thus itis the Holy Spirit who createsthe ‘real’ house, the house ofGod, which we call the livingChurch. Pope Benedict oncedescribed this work of theSpirit as a ‘creative power’

Fr David Reilly, Diocesan Youth Chaplain

OCTOBER 2014Chaplain’s Journal

See photos of youth events at:http://flickr.com/photos/catholicwestminster

Follow Westminster Youth Ministry on Facebook at:www.facebook.com/doywm

Follow Westminster YouthMinistry on Twitter at:twitter.com/dowym

To find out more about the YouthMinistry and experiences of ouryoung people at: wym.rcdow.org.uk.

without which nothing can be‘real’ at all.

This is a beautiful, not tosay daunting, task for our newmissionaries. But what weendeavour to do at Spec is onlya focus on what we are allcalled to do, wherever we findourselves. Each one of us whobears the imprint of baptism isalso called to co-operate in thiscreative force of the Spirit.Each one is called to be atrustworthy stone in thebuilding of God’s house. Evenif we are at times uncertain orsee that our efforts alone seeminsufficient, we can be certainthat the house we form ismade real by the Holy Spirit,and that it is built on thecornerstone which is Christhimself.

We wantyour NewsYou can send us yourlatest news online, please [email protected]

Sixth Form Inductions

Last week, the Youth Ministryteam went to St Charles’ andSt Benedict’s colleges for theirSixth Form inductions. Bothwere fun-filled days, whilstcontrasting in their content.At St Charles’, we providedteam-building andparticipatory exercises forstudents, principally throughthe entertaining Dress-your-student-as-a-Mummycompetition, which involvednominating a member of eachof the teams to get wrappedup as an Egyptian mummy –in toilet paper, of course.The results were often quitefunny to look at; thoughperhaps more entertainingwere the ‘Mummy races’afterwards, with studentsdressed head-to-toe in toiletpaper hopping their way tothe finish line.At St Benedict’s we organisedmore spiritual andcontemplative activities. FrGreg, a visiting Australianpriest, gave an inspiring talkabout the preciousness oftime, finding the meaning ofour lives and fulfilling ourvocation. Beginning with astory from CS Lewis’ TheScrewtape Letters, he told thestudents that the mostpowerful weapon the Devilhas is to make us think thatwe have plenty of time. On

the contrary, Fr Gregcharismatically articulatedhow time is precious and thatrather than just following thesecular narrative, we shouldaspire to live our lives withmuch greater purpose –because only when we rootourselves in God can we trulyfind happiness and meaning.The two school inductions

were great occasions, and itwas wonderful to be able to bepresent in supporting thesestudents in their faith journey,wherever they are in thatprocess. With anotherinduction on the way thisweek, it is truly a blessing forthe team to be able to supportthese young people in theirspiritual maturity.

In the year when we mark the centenary of the outbreak of theFirst World War and the 70th anniversary of the D-DayLandings in Normandy, ‘Warnings from History’ was the titleof the Hertfordshire Justice and Peace Day on 13 September inWelwyn Garden City. Next to the Peace Garden created byparishioner and activist Anne Stapleton, Fr Norbert Fernandes,Parish Priest of the three Welwyn parishes, welcomed Justiceand Peace activists to a day which reflected on the two WorldWars and the lessons that we can learn from them.

A masterly lecture on the rise of National Socialism inGermany was delivered by Dr Cyprian Blamires, editor of theEncyclopaedia of World Fascism. He pointed out the trail ofdeadly relations between France and Germany since the Franco-Prussian war and the conditions set by the Versailles Treaty forFrench revenge and German humiliation. He explained that theChristian churches, while not directly targeted by Hitler, wouldcertainly have been his next victims had Germany won the war,and he, along with many Jewish authorities, did not blame theCatholic Church for its role.

Scott Allbrecht of the Catholic Worker Farm gave an excellentScriptural critique of pacifism and the actions of Catholic Workermembers in opposing war. While most of us, he said, did nothave the courage to give up our lives in the face of tanks andother weapons, we should not assume the Gospels are wrong.We simply don’t want peace enough, he declared. Jesusdemonstrated the way of peace, which is at least as costly as thecost of war.

It was an excellent and thought-provoking day in thiscentenary year when Christians are challenged more than ever to seek ways to resolve our conflicts other than by resort toviolence.




Justice & Peace

Page 11

CAFOD Westminster Record | October 2014



Young LeadershipTraining for SixthFormers

CAFOD is running a leadership training programme for SixthForm students from October 2014. The focus will be on gainingtransferable leadership skills including communication,problem solving, team working and decision making.

In order to gain the certificate, participants will have todemonstrate their leadership skills by working on local andglobal justice issues. CAFOD aims to inspire young leaders bygiving them the opportunity to share the experiences of peopleworking within our partner organisations across the globe.

The skills gained will be invaluable when applying for jobs orhigher education and it is also a great opportunity to meet otheryoung people with an interest in social justice.

The course will take place on four Saturdays at CAFOD’shead office, Romero House SE1 7JB, (25 October, 6 December, 7 February & 18 April); the certificate presentations will takeplace on Friday 10 July.

There are only 50 places available and all completedapplications should be received by Sunday 10 October. For an application form and more information, contact Sarah [email protected].

CAFOD DiarySaturday, 24 January 2015 –Understanding CAFOD Day:for anyone wanting to learnmore about CAFOD and howto get involved. Held inAmigo Hall SE1 7QE.

Book online atucd2015.eventbrite.co.uk.

For more information or tobook for this event, call 020 8449 6970 or [email protected].

Climate change is the single biggest threat to sustainabledevelopment around the world and CAFOD’s new campaign,One Climate, One World, calls on party leaders to act inoffering protection to those most likely to be affected by thedangers of a changing climate, and to support the long-termtransition from polluting fossil fuels to sustainable energyfor all. At the same time, each of us will be challenged to liveas sustainably as we can, to show politicians that we expectthem to act too.

The campaign will be launched on 18 October with a talkfrom two of CAFOD’s Peruvian partners speaking about howclimate change has already started to affect their lives.Participants at the event will also have the opportunity to learnmore about how they can take part in the campaign, withworkshops including a Q&A session with Rob Elsworth, howto gain the livesimply parish reward and an introduction to thetheology of climate change.

One Climate, One World: Time to Act

Pope Paul VI Lecture

CAFOD partners Adan Pajeulo and Jessy Romero, of Partner Agency CEASin Peru, will be sharing how climate change has been affecting their work. (© CAFOD)

St Ethelburga’s Centre forReconciliation and Peace, inthe rebuilt church severelydamaged by the IRA’s 1993Bishopsgate bomb, recentlyhosted a conference on peace-building in the 21st centuryattended by scholars,religious leaders, secularists,humanists and also well-supported by Catholics.

I spoke on the theme ofgrassroots communities andpeace-building and theiropportunities, challenges and limits.

Relationships and buildingtrust are fundamental topeace. I was delighted that afellow panellist was theSecretary-General of theMuslim Council of GreatBritain, and I looked to findthe common good in both ourtraditions. Peace-buildingmeans that as Abrahamictraditions we share muchmore than what divides us.

We must invest in tools andpractices now emerging, suchas social and emotionallearning and life skills inschools, which, with CatholicSocial Teaching, teach thedignity of the human being.Restorative justice is apowerful and quickly growingmodel and movement. It offershealing-oriented methods asan alternative to currentcriminal justice approaches.These processes retainaccountability, while alsocreating conditions for conflictresolution to occur in thecriminal justice system.

As people of all faiths,cultures and traditions beginto share their stories of peace,love and connection in thisway, it may encourage others.For every person who turns toterrorism, bullying or violenceof any kind, there are millionsmore who do not feel the hateor prejudice and who can beencouraged along the path ofjustice and peace.

Find out more and book places now atcafodclimatelaunch.eventbrite.co.uk, or contact CAFODWestminster on 020 8449 6970 or [email protected]

We wantyour NewsYou can send us yourlatest news online, pleaseemail: [email protected]

Peace-Building inthe 21st CenturyConferenceBy Cate Tuitt

Cate Tuitt of the Justice and PeaceCommission is a Trustee of TowerHamlets Law Centre and a BoardMember of East London CommunityLand Trust.

The Two World Wars – Lessons for Justice and PeaceBy Barbara Kentish

The Value of Community

After undertaking a six-monthlistening process, the HurtadoJesuit Centre in Wapping haspublished the results of areport on the value of localcommunity. The report sharesthe voices of its neighbours inthe diverse and dynamicvillage of Wapping. A close-knit community in the heart ofthe London Docklands, itslong tradition of socialengagement by Christianagencies and politicalreformers is challenged byrising inequality and isolation.

The community listeningproject grew out of a desire torefine priorities to better fulfilthe Centre’s mission to be aplace of welcome in EastLondon. As Centre ManagerKate Monkhouse explains: ‘TheJesuit tradition is to “servewhere the need is greatest”.That first of all means beingwilling to serve, not to promotewhat we have to offer, but tolisten and learn, to be ready tohelp alongside others and tobuild relationships of trust.Then we can discern how, givenour resources, faith and values,we can best be of servicethrough practical projects orspiritual accompaniment tothose already working incharities, schools, cafés or youthcentres nearby.’

As part of the process, theCentre interviewed 24 peopleinvolved in local communityprojects as participants andorganisers. Many spoke aboutthe challenges they faced inrestoring value to community inthe days of making do with less,where being a good neighbourcan be lost in the busy-ness oflife. One participant described

this challenge by asking, ‘Do weknow our neighbours or do wejust annoy them?’

The report also details theresponses of participants onwhat attributes can contributeto making community projectsmore effective, such as thequality of community encounterfor example.

There are a wealth ofcommunity services in TowerHamlets and Wapping, but thepeople we spoke with notedsome important gaps, spaceswhere community could bevalued more highly. Some gapsare actual and some are onlyperceived. Yet perceptions domatter, because they reveal theextent of our awareness aboutcommunity activities.

All participants sharedinspiring stories of people andorganisations working to makethe local community morewelcoming.

These experiences, alongwith suggestions forstrengthening community, arerecorded in the report, entitledWelcome to Wapping: The valueof community in a TowerHamlets village. While thereport details the experience ofone community in a singleborough, its findings seem tosuggest that this is anexperience that is shared byother communities across thecapital. It is thereforeanticipated that the report willbe useful to organisations andindividuals looking for ways tostrengthen local community.

The report is available todownload free on the websiteof the Centre athurtadocentre.org.uk.

By Jonathan Smith

CAFOD is pleased to announcethat Bishop Marcelo Sorondo,Chancellor of the PontificalAcademy of Sciences and thePontifical Academy of SocialSciences, will be the guestspeaker for the annual PopePaul VI Memorial Lecture for2014. The evening will bechaired by televisionnewsreader and journalist JulieEtchingham.

Bishop Sorondo’s lecture willreflect on the two greatestchallenges we face in a talkentitled ‘The Challenge of ourTimes: Climate and Poverty - AnAgenda for Social Inclusion andSustainable Development’. TheArgentinian Bishop will share hisreflections on the relationshipbetween climate and poverty.

The lecture will take place onFriday 7 November at 7pm in theGreenwood Theatre, KingsCollege, London SE1 3RA. Tickets are free, butmust be booked in advance. To book, visitcafod.org.uk/lecture, or contactCAFOD Westminster: 020 8449 6970.

In the year when we mark the centenary of the outbreak of theFirst World War and the 70th anniversary of the D-DayLandings in Normandy, ‘Warnings from History’ was the titleof the Hertfordshire Justice and Peace Day on 13 September inWelwyn Garden City. Next to the Peace Garden created byparishioner and activist Anne Stapleton, Fr Norbert Fernandes,Parish Priest of the three Welwyn parishes, welcomed Justiceand Peace activists to a day which reflected on the two WorldWars and the lessons that we can learn from them.

A masterly lecture on the rise of National Socialism inGermany was delivered by Dr Cyprian Blamires, editor of theEncyclopaedia of World Fascism. He pointed out the trail ofdeadly relations between France and Germany since the Franco-Prussian war and the conditions set by the Versailles Treaty forFrench revenge and German humiliation. He explained that theChristian churches, while not directly targeted by Hitler, wouldcertainly have been his next victims had Germany won the war,and he, along with many Jewish authorities, did not blame theCatholic Church for its role.

Scott Allbrecht of the Catholic Worker Farm gave an excellentScriptural critique of pacifism and the actions of Catholic Workermembers in opposing war. While most of us, he said, did nothave the courage to give up our lives in the face of tanks andother weapons, we should not assume the Gospels are wrong.We simply don’t want peace enough, he declared. Jesusdemonstrated the way of peace, which is at least as costly as thecost of war.

It was an excellent and thought-provoking day in thiscentenary year when Christians are challenged more than ever to seek ways to resolve our conflicts other than by resort toviolence.




Justice & Peace

CAFOD Westminster Record | October 2014

Page 10 Follow us on Facebook at:www.facebook.com/diocese.westminster


Young LeadershipTraining for SixthFormers

CAFOD is running a leadership training programme for SixthForm students from October 2014. The focus will be on gainingtransferable leadership skills including communication,problem solving, team working and decision making.

In order to gain the certificate, participants will have todemonstrate their leadership skills by working on local andglobal justice issues. CAFOD aims to inspire young leaders bygiving them the opportunity to share the experiences of peopleworking within our partner organisations across the globe.

The skills gained will be invaluable when applying for jobs orhigher education and it is also a great opportunity to meet otheryoung people with an interest in social justice.

The course will take place on four Saturdays at CAFOD’shead office, Romero House SE1 7JB, (25 October, 6 December, 7 February & 18 April); the certificate presentations will takeplace on Friday 10 July.

There are only 50 places available and all completedapplications should be received by Sunday 10 October. For an application form and more information, contact Sarah [email protected].

CAFOD DiarySaturday, 24 January 2015 –Understanding CAFOD Day:for anyone wanting to learnmore about CAFOD and howto get involved. Held inAmigo Hall SE1 7QE.

Book online atucd2015.eventbrite.co.uk.

For more information or tobook for this event, call 020 8449 6970 or [email protected].

Climate change is the single biggest threat to sustainabledevelopment around the world and CAFOD’s new campaign,One Climate, One World, calls on party leaders to act inoffering protection to those most likely to be affected by thedangers of a changing climate, and to support the long-termtransition from polluting fossil fuels to sustainable energyfor all. At the same time, each of us will be challenged to liveas sustainably as we can, to show politicians that we expectthem to act too.

The campaign will be launched on 18 October with a talkfrom two of CAFOD’s Peruvian partners speaking about howclimate change has already started to affect their lives.Participants at the event will also have the opportunity to learnmore about how they can take part in the campaign, withworkshops including a Q&A session with Rob Elsworth, howto gain the livesimply parish reward and an introduction to thetheology of climate change.

One Climate, One World: Time to Act

Pope Paul VI Lecture

CAFOD partners Adan Pajeulo and Jessy Romero, of Partner Agency CEASin Peru, will be sharing how climate change has been affecting their work. (© CAFOD)

St Ethelburga’s Centre forReconciliation and Peace, inthe rebuilt church severelydamaged by the IRA’s 1993Bishopsgate bomb, recentlyhosted a conference on peace-building in the 21st centuryattended by scholars,religious leaders, secularists,humanists and also well-supported by Catholics.

I spoke on the theme ofgrassroots communities andpeace-building and theiropportunities, challenges and limits.

Relationships and buildingtrust are fundamental topeace. I was delighted that afellow panellist was theSecretary-General of theMuslim Council of GreatBritain, and I looked to findthe common good in both ourtraditions. Peace-buildingmeans that as Abrahamictraditions we share muchmore than what divides us.

We must invest in tools andpractices now emerging, suchas social and emotionallearning and life skills inschools, which, with CatholicSocial Teaching, teach thedignity of the human being.Restorative justice is apowerful and quickly growingmodel and movement. It offershealing-oriented methods asan alternative to currentcriminal justice approaches.These processes retainaccountability, while alsocreating conditions for conflictresolution to occur in thecriminal justice system.

As people of all faiths,cultures and traditions beginto share their stories of peace,love and connection in thisway, it may encourage others.For every person who turns toterrorism, bullying or violenceof any kind, there are millionsmore who do not feel the hateor prejudice and who can beencouraged along the path ofjustice and peace.

Find out more and book places now atcafodclimatelaunch.eventbrite.co.uk, or contact CAFODWestminster on 020 8449 6970 or [email protected]

We wantyour NewsYou can send us yourlatest news online, pleaseemail: [email protected]

Peace-Building inthe 21st CenturyConferenceBy Cate Tuitt

Cate Tuitt of the Justice and PeaceCommission is a Trustee of TowerHamlets Law Centre and a BoardMember of East London CommunityLand Trust.

The Two World Wars – Lessons for Justice and PeaceBy Barbara Kentish

The Value of Community

After undertaking a six-monthlistening process, the HurtadoJesuit Centre in Wapping haspublished the results of areport on the value of localcommunity. The report sharesthe voices of its neighbours inthe diverse and dynamicvillage of Wapping. A close-knit community in the heart ofthe London Docklands, itslong tradition of socialengagement by Christianagencies and politicalreformers is challenged byrising inequality and isolation.

The community listeningproject grew out of a desire torefine priorities to better fulfilthe Centre’s mission to be aplace of welcome in EastLondon. As Centre ManagerKate Monkhouse explains: ‘TheJesuit tradition is to “servewhere the need is greatest”.That first of all means beingwilling to serve, not to promotewhat we have to offer, but tolisten and learn, to be ready tohelp alongside others and tobuild relationships of trust.Then we can discern how, givenour resources, faith and values,we can best be of servicethrough practical projects orspiritual accompaniment tothose already working incharities, schools, cafés or youthcentres nearby.’

As part of the process, theCentre interviewed 24 peopleinvolved in local communityprojects as participants andorganisers. Many spoke aboutthe challenges they faced inrestoring value to community inthe days of making do with less,where being a good neighbourcan be lost in the busy-ness oflife. One participant described

this challenge by asking, ‘Do weknow our neighbours or do wejust annoy them?’

The report also details theresponses of participants onwhat attributes can contributeto making community projectsmore effective, such as thequality of community encounterfor example.

There are a wealth ofcommunity services in TowerHamlets and Wapping, but thepeople we spoke with notedsome important gaps, spaceswhere community could bevalued more highly. Some gapsare actual and some are onlyperceived. Yet perceptions domatter, because they reveal theextent of our awareness aboutcommunity activities.

All participants sharedinspiring stories of people andorganisations working to makethe local community morewelcoming.

These experiences, alongwith suggestions forstrengthening community, arerecorded in the report, entitledWelcome to Wapping: The valueof community in a TowerHamlets village. While thereport details the experience ofone community in a singleborough, its findings seem tosuggest that this is anexperience that is shared byother communities across thecapital. It is thereforeanticipated that the report willbe useful to organisations andindividuals looking for ways tostrengthen local community.

The report is available todownload free on the websiteof the Centre athurtadocentre.org.uk.

By Jonathan Smith

CAFOD is pleased to announcethat Bishop Marcelo Sorondo,Chancellor of the PontificalAcademy of Sciences and thePontifical Academy of SocialSciences, will be the guestspeaker for the annual PopePaul VI Memorial Lecture for2014. The evening will bechaired by televisionnewsreader and journalist JulieEtchingham.

Bishop Sorondo’s lecture willreflect on the two greatestchallenges we face in a talkentitled ‘The Challenge of ourTimes: Climate and Poverty - AnAgenda for Social Inclusion andSustainable Development’. TheArgentinian Bishop will share hisreflections on the relationshipbetween climate and poverty.

The lecture will take place onFriday 7 November at 7pm in theGreenwood Theatre, KingsCollege, London SE1 3RA. Tickets are free, butmust be booked in advance. To book, visitcafod.org.uk/lecture, or contactCAFOD Westminster: 020 8449 6970.

Parish Profile Westminster Record | October 2014



Mention ‘The Fulham Road’ toa football fan and they will sayone thing: Chelsea FC. Thefamous West London streethas become synonymous withthe club. We always see fans inprayer at times of great tensionand drama. But if you areseeking some divineinspiration before entering thefamous Stamford Bridgestadium, you might want towalk a bit further along theroad to visit the Church of OurLady of Dolours.

The parish is administeredby eight Servite Friars led by Fr Pat Ryall, an Irishman fromCounty Cork, now in his thirdstint as Parish Priest at OurLady’s – ‘third time lucky’, hetells parishioners. The Servitesfirst came to this area ofLondon in 1864, but it wasanother ten years before theybegan to build a church in thegarden of their new priory. Thefoundation stone was blessedby Archbishop Manning in 1874and opened the following yearby the then-Cardinal. Walkingalong the Fulham Road,though, you would be forgivenfor missing the church entirely.Although the entrance to theproperty is on the street, thechurch building itself is set backfrom the road and largelyhidden. To find the church, youwalk along a colonnade beforeentering the narthex.

Our Lady of Dolours, Fulham Road

The church is larger thanyou would assume from streetlevel and is both large andhigh. Recent renovation of thestonework has made it brightand welcoming, but your eyewill be drawn to the variouspieces of artwork andsculpture which would be theenvy of many parishes. Chiefamong these is a replica ofMichelangelo’s famous Pietawhich sits at the back of thechurch. It is almost the samesize as the original in St Peter’sin Rome and Fr Pat explainedhow it captures the greatestaspect of the Order’s charism.He described how the Marianspirituality of the Order givesthe Friars a great sense ofcompassion, like Mary at thefoot of the Cross, which thesculpture captures perfectly.

Although called FulhamRoad, the parish is actually inthe London Borough ofKensington and Chelsea. Thesenames naturally conjureimages of wealth although FrPat is keen to point out the‘cosmopolitan’ make-up of theparish today, in contrast to hisfirst appointment here in the1970s. There is a large Filipinoand West African communityand a large Spanish contingentalso, which celebrates Mass inSpanish on a Sunday. As areflection of the changingnature of the parish, Fr Patsays that in the 1970s this Mass

Founded: 1864Consecrated: 1953Mass Times: (Sat 6.30pm),8.30, 10 (Family), 11.15(Spanish), 12.15pm, 7pmAddress: St Mary’s Priory,264 Fulham Road, SW10 9ELTelephone: 020 7352 6965Website:www.servitechurch.org

was principally for peoplefrom mainland Spain;however, there are now manySouth Americans present.Although there is a variety offinancial circumstances amongparishioners, he is keen tostress that in the parisheveryone is treated equallyand financial wealth is left atthe door.

Fr Pat is proud that theparish is deeply involved inthe Servite Primary School,which is just a stone’s throwfrom the church. Studentsoften serve on the altar or singin the choir, with parents andteachers taking an active partin parish life. He commendedthe staff for their efforts inpassing on the faith with suchdiligence and dedication, evento non-Catholics who areinterested.

In September the parishcelebrated the 150thanniversary of its foundingand the arrival of the Servites.Cardinal Vincent ledcelebrations on Sunday 14 September with over 500parishioners filling the church.

Concelebrating were the friarsof Fulham Road and 24 othermembers of the Order fromacross the world who haveleadership roles, includingPriors Provincial. On Monday15, the Feast Day of Our Ladyof Sorrows, the Prior General, Fr Gottfried Wolff OSM,celebrated a special Mass atthe parish. Father Pat said hefelt a great sense of pride thatthe leaders of the Order towhich he has dedicated over40 years of his life werepresent to mark themomentous anniversary in theparish he has served for over20 years.

I asked Fr Pat at the end of our conversation what hethought was the greatestchallenge in the future. Hepaused for a long time andthought deeply before saying:‘We must keep the flame offaith alive in an ever moresecular city. We mustconstantly be connecting withthose in our parish and re-connecting with those whohave fallen away from it’.

By Chris O’Callaghan

Parish Priest Fr Pat Ryall with the replica of Michelangelo’s famous Pieta statue at the back of the Church.

Interior of Our Lady of Dolours, Fulham Road

Our Lady of Sorrows with a dagger in her heart. Representations of OurLady of Sorrows normally have 7 daggers to represent Mary’ssorrows.




Diocese

Bishop John Appeals for Help with Retired PriestsThis year the diocese’s Sick &Retired Priests’ Fund keeps its35th birthday. Set up in 1979,it supports sick and elderlypriests of the diocese,ensuring that every retiredpriest has somewhere to live,frequently a vital issue asmany priests do not have ahome of their own. It alsohelps those who arestruggling with disability andcan arrange home help,nursing care or shelteredaccommodation if thatbecomes necessary.

The Fund is managed by acommittee which includes bothworking and retired priests anda key part of its role is to visitsick and elderly priests on aregular basis to ensure that allis well. These visits also oftenlead to small but importantinitiatives, such as organisingtransport to the local church,doing a bit of shopping orsorting out a telephone for thehard of hearing.

The Fund is a charity whichdepends on donations, but 35years on it is struggling tomake ends meet. This is both

because the number of retiredpriests has grown greatly since1979 and because of theincreased cost of providing keyservices, particularlyaccommodation and residentialcare.

The annual parish collectionfor the Sick & Retired Priests’Fund takes place on Sunday9 November and Bishop JohnArnold, who chairs the Fund’scommittee, has appealed forwidespread support.

‘Most of our priests workuntil their mid-seventies and,after a lifetime of service, ourjob is to ensure that they canlive out their lives in comfortand with dignity. But we canonly do this if we have thefunds to do so. I know thatmany people are struggling tomake ends meet and I can onlyask everyone to give as muchas they can reasonably afford.’

‘Growing in Faith’: Projecting into the FutureEnabling a retired priest to join in celebrating the Liturgy

Donations to the Sick &Retired Priests’ Fund can bemade online atwww.rcdow.org.uk/donations

Hampstead’s catechist BrendenThompson is employed throughGrowing in Faith funds

By now most parishionershave had a chance to learnabout Growing in Faith. Morethan 160 parishes have alreadyparticipated, 1,200 volunteershave reached out to 65,000homes, and 17,000 families andindividuals have respondedwith a gift or pledge.

What started out as aninitiative aimed atstrengthening three pillars ofthe Church in the diocese hasdeveloped into a parish-centredeffort. Clergy and parishionershave seized the opportunity toraise funds for local needs,identifying more than 250projects which could not havebeen undertaken out of normaloffertory income.

In a little under three yearsmore than £12 million has beenpledged for a variety of projects.These include: a youth workerin Sudbury, a catechist inHampstead, church

refurbishments in NorthHarrow and a new parish centrein Welwyn Garden City. Fiveparishes have also lookedbeyond their own needs andhave committed £500,000 tohelp poorer parishes throughthe Trinity Fund.

Growing in Faith isbringing a new focus andenergy to many parishes. It isensuring that we can supportour clergy and provideincreased services to those inmost need. Between now andChristmas it is hoped that this

momentum will spread evenfurther. 30 parishes have joinedlast month, resulting inadditional projects beingplanned and even more peopleexpressing their love for theChurch and their faith in apractical way.

The theme of the latest bookletfor faith-sharing groups thisautumn centres on what itmeans to be a disciple ofChrist. Entitled Jesus, My Lord,the booklet contains sixsessions for small groups, ascheme of daily prayer drawnfrom the Prayer of the Churchand, new for this autumn,pages designed to help parentsshare the booklet’s theme withtheir children. There are alsofull-colour illustrations to aidmeditation and prayer.

In his foreword to thebooklet Cardinal Vincentcommends the resource saying:‘We all became “missionarydisciples” at our baptism.

However, each one of us livesout our missionarydiscipleship in our ownparticular way. As such weneed to ask ourselves in a trulypersonal manner: Who am I asa disciple? As a missionary,what have I to do and say?’

Sessions with the newbooklet will help us exploreour understanding ofdiscipleship as the basis of our




Marriage & Family LifeEXPLORE: The Realities of MarriageIn September the Bishops’ Conference of England and Walesawarded the diocese, via the Office for Marriage and FamilyLife, a grant of £25,000 to expand the EXPLORE project inschools. This will enable the employment of a part-timedevelopment officer, who will help recruit volunteer marriedcouples to discuss marriage with secondary school students andyouth groups across the diocese. EXPLORE will be a major pillarin efforts to raise awareness and achieve effective ‘remotemarriage preparation’. Edmund Adamus, the Director forMarriage and Family Life, explains how this grant will help:

What do you hope this new development officer willaccomplish?The Instrumentum Laboris produced for the Extraordinary Synodon the Family describes the importance of the EXPLORE project:‘Long before young people present themselves for marriage,they need assistance in coming to know what the Church teachesand why she teaches it.’ It is a vital contribution to building theculture of vocation to matrimony in Catholic secondary schoolsand parishes. This is why we call it ‘remote marriagepreparation.’ To have someone focused solely on this will enablea rapid start to expanding this work.

How far do you hope to extend the programme?It is our aim to deliver EXPLORE events in at least 22 secondaryschools over the next two years, which would be half of Catholicsecondary schools in the diocese. Staff are interested in theprogramme as part of the PSHE and Catholic formation forstudents and now we need the couples to keep up with thedemand. Persuading couples two or three times a year to talkwith adolescents is more difficult, but once couples realise thedifference it makes to the young people, and also the enrichmentit brings to their own relationship, we are confident that theresponse rate will increase.

What sort of couples are you looking to recruit for theprogramme?All couples who are validly married in the eyes of the Churchare eligible to volunteer. There is no restriction on age or lengthof time married. Visits to schools happen during the week, socouples must be available then. At the moment the volunteerstend to be older or retired or couples whose work patterns are soflexible they can work around the school timetable. We will,however, be looking to bring couples to Confirmation and youthand young adult groups which gather in evenings andweekends, which will, we hope, open up the chance for more tovolunteer.We also need people to come forward to fulfil the role of‘Adviser Coach’, to work alongside the volunteer couple in theclassroom to prepare the students beforehand with a simpleexercise and gather feedback afterwards. Anyone can volunteerto be an Adviser Coach and they do not need to be married.

A couple speak to young people in a secondary school about marriage

Small Groups Small faith-groups in thediocese are welcome toinvite Margaret Wickware tovisit one of their sessionsduring the coming season.As a member of the writingteam of the Faith-Sharingbooklets since 2006, she hasbeen visiting groups overthe past couple of seasonsand says:

‘Feedback on thematerials helps me; andmembers of many groups areinterested in hearing aboutadditional resources that theymay use between seasons.The challenge of transmittingthe faith to grandchildren isoften mentioned as well, sovarious ideas and resourcescan also be discussed.’

Mrs Wickware can bereached [email protected] through the Agency forEvangelisation offices.

personal vocation and impel usto use our gifts to build thekingdom of God. Just as SimonPeter made a consciousdecision to leave everything inorder to follow Jesus, we areasked to do the same,consciously to decide that he isour Lord. Over six weeks faithsharing groups are invited tocontemplate what this meansin terms of our daily living.

The season will start onSunday 12 October and finishon Saturday 22 November.However, the booklets can beused at any time of year.

Called toDiscipleship

If you would like to find outmore about Jesus, My Lord orany of the other exploringfaith booklets, order copies orwish to explore thepossibilities of small groupsin your parish please [email protected] call 020 7798 9152.




Catechesis

On Saturday 13 SeptemberBishop John Arnold blessedand commissioned 85 parishcatechists for service in theparishes of the diocese.

It was a great expression ofthe Bishops’ pledge of supportand encouragement for over5,000 catechists who work withsacramental preparation, co-ordinate parish religiouseducation or volunteer ascatechists, youth ministers,RCIA team members and adulteducation facilitators in ourdiocese. We must alsoremember the parents andfamilies who accept theirprimary responsibility for thefaith formation of theirchildren in the home.

Mary Crowley, the diocesancatechetical advisor, called theassembled catechists‘instruments of God’. Sheadded: ‘It is good, opportuneand timely to recognise ourcatechists, who fulfil the sacredduty of handing on our

Bishop commends Catechists for their ServiceCatholic faith to the nextgeneration.’

The Church sees catechesisas the responsibility of theentire faith community. Asthere are fewer priests andreligious sisters and brothers,who for years carried theburden of the formal teachingof religion to young people,so opportunity has arisen forthe laity. Not only are laypeople doing a great deal ofthe work in their parishes,but some are even working asforeign missionary-catechists.

That being said, thediocesan catechetical officehas identified four particularchallenges to its work as itgoes forward:

1) The rise of anincreasingly secularand materialisticsociety, which is often atodds with our Christianmessage and values.

2) An emphasis onindividual rights, which

has eroded the conceptof the common good ofall peoples and ourability to call people toaccept revealed teachingthat cannot be changedby democratic process.

3) The disintegration ofthe community andsocial structures thatonce supported religiousfaith and encouragedfamily life, which hasbeen hastened by amedia- and technology-driven culture thatmakes catechesisespecially difficult.

4) Religious instructionand catechesis are incompetition withentertainment andsports for time inpeople’s lives.

Moreover, catechists mustwork in a multiculturalcontext, reach out to theunevangelised andundercatechised, and make

special provision for thosewith physical and mentaldisabilities. However, no oneever said it was going to be beeasy.

Good catechists can stillturn these challenges intoassets. They can embrace andmake better use of media andtechnology in catechesis, evenas they recognise that thesetools, helpful and necessary asthey may be in the modernworld, can never completelyreplace the face-to-face contactbetween catechist and disciplethat is at the heart of Christianteaching.

To deal with the stresses offamily life and time pressures,catechists themselves can serveas models of good prioritysetting, communityinvolvement, timemanagement and, above all,generosity of spirit. These‘personal sacrifices thatcatechists make to teach in the

name of Christ and his Church’were cited by Bishop John asparticularly inspiring.

The Diocesan CatecheticalOffice works in VaughanHouse and offers opportunitesfor training and ongoingformation for catechists using avariety of resources.

For more details, [email protected] orsee www.rcdow.org.uk/faith

Vocations Westminster Record | October 2014



The ‘Year of ConsecratedLife’ announced by the Popeearlier this year will beginon 30 November and end on2 February 2016, the annualWorld Day of Prayer forConsecrated Life. The Popeis asking the Church’sreligious sisters, brothersand priests, together withthose in other forms of

Year of Consecrated Lifeconsecrated life, to ‘wake upthe Church’ with theirtestimony of faith, holinessand hope. The year will bean opportunity for religiouscongregations to reflect ontheir particular charisms, thechallenges they face todayand on their continuingcontribution to the missionof the Church.

Here in the diocese we aremarking the Year by dedicatingall of our monthly VocationsDiscernment Group meetingsfor young adults to reflectionsand discussions with membersof different religiouscongregations. We begin onFriday 24 October with Fr MattBlake, a Discalced Carmelite,speaking on St Teresa of Avila,and a month later, on Friday 28November, Fr GianniNotarianni, an Augustinian,speaking on St Augustine. Bothwill reflect on why they havepersonally been inspired bythe saint of their owncongregation and what they

The Congregation of the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace (CSJP)joyfully celebrated four women taking vows on Saturday6 September. Three of them, Srs Katrina Alton, Sheena George,and Juliana Ngozi Iwuagwu - made their First Professionwhilst Dorothy Verna was welcomed into membership underLife Vows. All four professions took place as part of the 22ndGeneral Chapter held in Seattle.

The three Sisters making first vows have just completed theirnovitiate in Cricklewood. Novices are given a variety ofopportunities to experience life and ministry as a Sisterthroughout the Congregation’s three regions in the UnitedKingdom and the east and west coasts of the United States.

The three new Sisters come from different places and walksof life. Sr Katrina is from Belfast and worked in London on avariety of social action projects, from peace campaigns to workwith the Irish traveller community. Sr Juliana from Nigeriaundertook her novitiate working with Pax Christi here in thediocese. Sheena George was born in Kerala, India and worked asa computer and RE teacher before entering the Congregation.She also undertook social action projects during her novitiate.

We wish all the new members of the Congregation a fruitfuland fulfilled life in Christ’s service.

For more information on vocations please contact Fr RichardNesbitt [email protected] or 020 7349 5624

If you have a story or an event you would like to havefeatured on this page, please [email protected] or 020 7798 9030

For more information and a full programme of the group’smeetings, see www.rcdow.org.uk/vocations or contact Fr Richard at [email protected]

In Evangelii Gaudium, PopeFrancis outlined a challengingvision for evangelisation,arguing that ‘we need anevangelisation capable ofshedding light on the newways of relationship’ in theworld around us and that ‘theChurch is called to be at theservice of a difficult dialogue’(EG, 74). He invited us torethink and develop ourpastoral ministry and ‘to bebold and creative in this taskof rethinking the goals,structures, style and methodsof evangelisation’ (EG, 33).

The Agency forEvangelisation, together withthe Office for Marriage andFamily Life, invites all thoseinvolved in different ministriesand other areas of service inparish life to a day conferencelooking at how to make ourpastoral ministry more effective.Bishop Kieran Conry, head ofthe Bishops’ Conference’sDepartment for Evangelisation,will present a keynote addressand workshops and discussionwill follow, led by Mgr MalachyKeegan, Dr Birute Briliute andthe HTB [ALPHA] RelationshipCentral.

Taking up the Challenge

The conference will be held25 October 2014 at St Aloysius Church NW1 1TA from 10am-4pm(lunch provided). Places arelimited, so please register toattend by [email protected] orcalling 020 7931 6078.Suggested donation is £15.

feel the saint and theircongregation have to offer theChurch and those discerningtheir vocation today. It promisesto be an inspiring journey acrossthe diverse and rich landscapeof consecrated life, celebratingits continuing relevance andfertility for the world.

The Westminster VocationsDiscernment Group is foryoung adults (18-30’s) seekingto know God’s will for theirlives. We meet from 7-9pm onthe fourth Sunday of eachmonth in the Hinsley Room,Morpeth Terrace, next toWestminster Cathedral.

SJPs Welcome Four More Womento the Congregation

The Agency for Evangelisationhosts a series of adultformation courses and talksthroughout the year. To findout more visitrcdow.org.uk/faith. The Officefor Marriage and Family Lifepromotes events andresources to support couplesand families. For moreinformation visitrcdow.org.uk/diocese/marriage-and-family-life

Westminster Record September 2011VocationsWestminster Record | October 2014



Stefan Kaminski Welcomed to the PriesthoodBy Mgr Jim Curry

The ordination of StefanKaminski was a moment ofgreat celebration for the parishof Our Lady of Victories inKensington. Stefan wasbaptised, made his First HolyCommunion, and wasconfirmed at OLOV Church.

He went to local Catholicschools and served Mass at theparish until he went on toseminary formation, first inValladolid and then at theVenerable English College inRome.

Cardinal Vincent celebratedthe Ordination Mass, whichwas attended by 78 otherpriests, fellow seminarians andover 500 guests, including theMayor of Kensington andChelsea. The London OratorySchola provided the music forthe Mass.

Those present could think ofno better way to mark thecompletion of major renovationof the church than by theordination of a new priest forthe diocese.

The Little Sisters with Big Hearts

Madeleine Hutin, who tookthe name Little SisterMagdeleine of Jesus, foundedour community 75 years ago.She felt called to live amongpoor nomadic Arabs in theSahara to be a presence ofGod’s love. The Little Sistersare from over 65 nationalities,with communities in 50countries, over a quarter ofwhich are among Muslims.We choose especially to be inplaces of conflict anddivision, or where the humanperson is not respected.

Following the example ofCharles de Foucauld, BrotherCharles of Jesus, the heart ofour vocation as Little Sisters isto open up the treasures of themystery of Bethlehem andNazareth. Jesus, the image ofthe Father, comes to us as achild in a feeding trough foranimals and spends his life‘going down’ to Nazareth, andfinally dying on the Cross asthe Nazarene. We want tospend our life seeking to

An icon of Blessed Charles deFoucauld, whose example the LittleSisters follow.

contemplate God in the smallevents and decisions ofeveryday life in the footstepsof Jesus, who made everythingin our ordinary life a meetingplace with God.

Our congregation lives as asmall family at the heart of thelocal community. We are basedin St Monica’s parish, Hoxtonwhich has a strong WestAfrican presence and we livein a three-bedroom high-risecouncil flat. This, however, isnot a hindrance to our mission;instead it is a privileged placeto meet with people of everyrace and background. We takeordinary jobs to pay the rentand to share the questions andhopes of those whose life weshare. Friday night Gospelsharing, which is open to all, isa special moment each week.

Community prayer andEucharistic Adoration arepivotal moments in thestructure of each day for us, aswell as meditation on theGospels. But we want our

whole life to be a prayer whichis handed over in union withJesus’s gift of himself on theCross, in intercession for thepeace and reconciliation of allour brothers and sistersthroughout the world.

Sr Catherine Purdy, a Little Sister of Jesus, tells us about her order and ministryin the diocese.

To find out more informationabout us, please see:www.jesuscaritas.info

Liturgy Blog Nominatedfor Prize‘Living Eucharist’, the blogwritten by Fr Allen Morriswho chairs the DiocesanLiturgy Commission, has just been shortlisted in the‘Up and Coming’ category ofthe Christian New MediaAwards 2014.

Fr Allen, who is also ParishPriest at Our Lady’s, St John’sWood, started the daily blog afew months ago as a means ofhelping parishioners and otherCatholics to deepen theirparticipation in Sunday Mass.The blog uses a combination oftext and images to allowvisitors to engage on differentlevels and derive a deeperunderstanding. ‘Too much ofour liturgy and catechesis isword-based, and too little issymbolic or makes use ofimages,’ he explains.

The popularity of the bloghas spread around the world.As Fr Allen says: ‘part of thejoy comes from seeing where it

is being read. Technology hasenabled the blog to reachpeople in 25 countries on fiveout of seven continents.’

Now in their eighth year,the Christian New MediaAwards ‘celebrate andencourage excellence inChristian engagement online’.Winners will be announced on 1 November.

To read the blog, which isupdated daily, go tohttp://livingeucharist.wordpress.com/

Saints & Obituaries Westminster Record | October 2014



St Bruno, Priest (Monday 6 October)St Bruno, now honoured asthe Founder of theCarthusian Order, livedmuch of his life in what wewould call a very non-monastic setting. Born inabout 1030 in Cologne, heapparently moved at ayoung age to Reims inFrance for his education,completed in 1055.

His return to Cologne,however, lasted only a yearbefore he was recalled toReims to take over thesupervision of the EpiscopalSchool and other educationalestablishments of which hehad so recently been astudent. This certainly looksto have been a time ofintellectual achievement,with many later funeraltributes recording both hislearning and effectiveeducational influence onmany later leaders in theChurch, both monastic andsecular. Twenty years werespent in this way before hisnext appointment, asChancellor of the diocese.

This was less to his liking,involving wideradministration andunedifying, even violentdisputes. As it looked likelythat a bishopric would soonbe his, Bruno left with acouple of friends to fulfil avow which he had alreadymade to seek greater

2 Canon Des Sheehan (2004)5 Fr John Fleming (1974)

Fr Walter Meyjes (1987)6 Fr Denis Murphy (1999)7 Fr Thomas Daniel (1984)8 Fr Thomas Allan (1982)10 Fr Norman Fergusson (1986)

Fr Arthur Moraes (2008)11 Fr Joseph Davey (1970)12 Fr James Finn (1977)

Canon John P Murphy (1989)14 Fr Henry Bryant (1972)

Fr John Woods (2002)Fr Barry Carpenter (2012)

16 Mgr Canon Terence Keenan(1984)

18 Fr John Eveleigh Woodruff(1976)Fr John Murphy (2005)

19 Fr John Farrell (1983)21 Fr Richard Berry (1989)22 Fr David Cullen (1974)

Fr Herbert Keldany (1988)Fr Ben Morgan (2005)

23 Fr Joseph O’Hear (1970)Fr Joe Gibbons (2002)Fr Dermot McGrath (2012)

24 Fr John Halvey (1990) Fr Kenneth Dain (2010)

25 Fr Andrew Moore (1994)Fr John Kearney (2007)

26 Fr John Clayton (1992)Fr George Talbot (2004)

27 Fr Colin Kilby (1985)29 Canon Leo Ward (1970)

Fr Joseph Eldridge (1993)30 Canon William Gordon (1976)31 Fr William Dempsey (2008)

In Memoriam: October

solitude. At first they joined asmall group which would intime become the nucleus ofthe Cistercian Order. This didnot work out, althoughBruno had by now (1084)gathered a group of fourpriests and two lay brothersto be with him. Under theguidance of St Hugh, Bishopof Grenoble, the groupsettled in an isolatedmountainous spot called theChartreuse in the LowerAlps. Here St Hugh joinedthem in a life of prayer, studyand evangelical poverty.

Yet Bruno had only sixyears here before beingsummoned to Rome by hisformer student, now PopeUrban II, who felt himself indire need of wise counsel andsupport. The role played byBruno in Rome remainslargely hidden from history.When not in the city itself hewas able to be with hisCarthusian brethren inCalabria, but always withinsummoning distance by PopeUrban. In this way our Saintspent the remaining 11 yearsof his life, from 1090 to 1101.

Funerary rolls about himcontain statements from noless than 178 witnesses whohad known him andexperienced his life andteaching. Pre-eminently theycelebrate his prayer,mortification and devotion to

Frs Robert Gates & Alan Ashton RIPFr Robert Howard Gates,known to many as Fr Bobby,died peacefully on the morningof 15 September at Laurel DeneCare Home in Hampton, westLondon. Born in August 1920,he was 94 years old at the timeof his death. Fr Robert servedas a Captain during the SecondWorld War and was involvedin the organisation of the D-Day landings in 1944.Following the war, he studiedlaw at Oxford and it was therethat he felt called to thepriesthood. He studied at theBeda College in Rome and wasordained to the Priesthood forthe diocese by CardinalClemente Micara in March 1955in Rome. He served as PrivateSecretary to the Cardinal,assistant priest at CommercialRoad and St Charles' Square,chaplain at WestminsterCathedral then chaplain atHMP Wormwood Scrubsbefore taking his finalplacement as parish priest atParsons Green which was along and fruitful ministry. He retired in 1995, butcontinued to remain active as a‘supply’ Priest, givingassistance when needed inlocal parishes and in schools.

May he rest in peace.

Fr Alan Ashton died on 19 September. He was 69 yearsof age. Born in Wigan in 1945,he worked in retail beforetraining as a teacher. He was

Head of R.E. in BishopUllathorne School in Coventryand St Mary's Catholic Schoolin Sidcup. The vocation to thepriesthood came later in life forFr Alan and he was ordained tothe priesthood at NewSouthgate parish in December1993 by then-Bishop VincentNichols. Following ordinationhe served as Assistant Priest inKenton, Parish Priest inRoyston and Chaplain to theCathedral before his finalappointment as Parish Priest ofWembley Preston Road. Heretired in June 2009. As a priesthe loved the Sacrament ofConfession and in hisretirement spent regularsessions in WestminsterCathedral helping (as he sawit) to “lift other people’sburdens” He was always onthe lookout for those (likehimself) who wereexperiencing ill-health andoffering them the comforts ofthe Sacrament of the Sick.

May he rest in peace.

Our Lady, characteristicswhich have marked theCarthusian Order ever since,with all Charterhousesthroughout the world beingdedicated to herAnnunciation.

In the spirit of humblesimplicity, St Bruno’sfollowers never sought hiscanonisation, hiddenness andhumility being accounted ofgreater worth. Only in 1623did Pope Gregory XVformally proclaim thatsanctity which has given somuch to the Church in theCarthusian way.

©Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P

SUNDAYSTaizé at St James, PiccadillyW1J 9LL every third Sunday5pm. Call 020 7503 5128 fordetails. Tyburn Benedictines MonasticafternoonEvery first Sunday 2-5pmMartyrs’ Crypt, TyburnConvent, 8 Hyde Park Place W2 2LJ. Westminster Cathedral YoungAdults meet socially after the7pm Mass on Sundays and thenat the nearby Windsor Castlepub. For further details pleasecontact:[email protected]’ Prayers at StDominic’s Priory, HaverstockHill NW5 4LB Mondays 2.30-3.30pm in the Lourdes chapel.All are welcome.TUESDAYSAdoration of the BlessedSacrament. Tuesdays 6-9pmconcluding with Benediction atNewman House, 111 GowerStreet WC1E 6AR. Details 0207387 6370.Prayers for London at theShrine of Our Lady ofWillesden. Tuesdays 7.30pm.Organised by the Guild of OurLady of Willesden, Nicoll Road NW10 9AX.Vocations Prayer GroupSecond Tuesday of the month8pm at 47C Gaisford StreetNW5 2EB.Taizé at St. James’, SpanishPlace, W1U 3UY. Every 1stTuesday of the month. Email:[email protected] or justcome alongWEDNESDAYSWednesdays on the Wall(WOTW). Every firstWednesday 6pm at All Hallowson the Wall, 83 London Wall EC2M 5ND.

REGULAR EVENTSIf you have an event, please email:[email protected]

Deaf Community Mass First Sunday of the month 4.30pm, Westminster CathedralHall, Ambrosden Avenue SW1P 1QW.Young Adults MassFirst & Third Sunday of themonth, 114 Mount Street W1K 3AH. Quiet prayer 7.15pm, Mass 7.30pm. Social gatheringafterwards. Contact:[email protected] or visitwww.fsplus.info.Mass at Canary Wharf Held on Tuesdays at 12.30pm at2 Churchill Place E14 5RB.Organised by Mgr VladimirFelzmann, Chaplain to CanaryWharf Communities. Detailswww.cwcc.org.uk.St AlbansFridays at 12 noon. Mass in theLady Chapel of St Albans AbbeyAL1 1BY.

EXTRAORDINARY FORMMASSESSundays: Low Mass 9.30am, St James Spanish Place W1U 3QY.Low Mass 9am, The Oratory,Brompton Road SW7 2RP.Low Mass 5pm, St Bartholomew,St Albans AL1 2PE.Low Mass 5.30pm, Shrine of OurLady of Willesden, NW10 9AX.Mondays: Low Mass 8am The Oratory, Brompton Road SW7 2RP Mass 6.30pm CorpusChristi, Maiden Lane, WC2E 7NB. Tuesdays, Wednesdays andThursdays: Low Mass, 8am The Oratory, Brompton Road SW7 2RP. Fridays: Low Mass 7.45am St Mary Moorfields, 4/5 EldonStreet EC2N 7LS. Low Mass 8am The Oratory,Brompton Road SW7 2RP.Low Mass 6pm St Etheldreda,Ely Place EC1N 6RY. First Fridays only. Low Mass 6pm St John theBaptist Church, King Edward'sRoad E9 7SF. First Fridays only.Low Mass 6.30pm, CorpusChristi, Maiden Lane WC2E 7NB. Second Fridays only. Saturdays: Low Mass 12.15pm,St Wilfrid’s Chapel, The Oratory, Brompton Road SW7 2RP.Low Mass 4.30pm, Side Chapel,Westminster Cathedral SW1P 1QW. Second Saturday only.




Events & Calendar

Prayer Groups

Other regular Masses

St Francis of Assisi Catholic Ramblers’ Club meets on everySunday of the year for walks around London and the HomeCounties. Contact: [email protected] 020 8769 3643 or see www.stfrancisramblers.ukwalkers.com.

Free Catholic Tours. ‘Saints and Scholars’ walk first Sundayof the month, including Mass. Contact Peter on 07913904997or [email protected].

Praying with Pope Francis in OctoberUniversal Intention: That the Lord may grant peace to thoseparts of the world most battered by war and violence.For Evangelisation: That World Mission Day may rekindle inevery believer zeal for carrying the Gospel into all the world.

A short service of prayer andreflection at 6pm, coffee at6.45pm followed by discussion.Corpus Christi ContemplativePrayer Group for YoungAdults Wednesdays from 7pmat Corpus Christi, Maiden LaneWC2E 7NB. For further detailsplease [email protected] prayer groupfor young adults meets from7pm on Wednesdays at NotreDame de France, 5 LeicesterPlace WC2H 7BX. For furtherdetails please contact Armel [email protected] Christ the Fullness ofLife - Every first Thursday ofthe month. Young adults fromall Christian denominationspray and share a meal. Detailswww.jcfl.org.uk.Soul Food - A Catholiccharismatic prayer group foryoung adults meets Thursdays7-9pm at St Charles Borromeo,Ogle Street W1W 6HS. Detailsat www.soulfoodgroup.org.St John Paul II Prayer Group -Every second Thursday of themonth 7-8pm, Mass, Adorationand Prayer at Corpus Christi,Maiden Lane WC2E 7NB.FRIDAYSAssociation of Divorced and Separated CatholicsEvery third Friday of themonth. All divorced and separatedCatholics are welcome. CallFrank or Christine 020 8422 1591.Divine Mercy Prayers andMass Every first Friday 2.30-4.30pmat Our Lady, Mother of theChurch, 2 Windsor Road W5 5PD. Westminster CathedralCharismatic Prayer GroupEvery Friday 7.30pm Prayer,Praise and Teaching. FirstFriday is a healing Mass.Details: 020 8748 2632.SATURDAYSTaizé at Notre Dame de France,5 Leicester Place WC2H 7BX7.15pm Call 020 7437 9363

Liturgical Calendar - October1 Wed St Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin & Doctor2 Thu The Holy Guardian Angels 3 Fri feria, 26th Week of Year 2; Harvest Fast Day;

Friday abstinence4 Sat St Francis of Assisi5 Sun + 27th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME6 Mon feria, 27th Week of Year 2 or St Bruno, Priest7 Tue Our Lady of the Rosary8 Wed feria9 Thu feria or Blessed John Henry Newman, Priest

or St Denis, Bishop, and Companions, Martyrs or St John Leonardi, Priest

10 Fri feria or St Paulinus of York, Priest; Friday abstinence11 Sat feria or Blessed Virgin Mary12 Sun + 28th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

13 Mon ST EDWARD THE CONFESSOR, Patron of the Diocese

14 Tue feria, 28th Week of Year 2 or St Callistus I,Pope & Martyr

15 Wed St Teresa of Jesus, Virgin & Doctor16 Thu feria or St Hedwig, Religious

or St Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin 17 Fri St Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop & Martyr;

Friday abstinence18 Sat ST LUKE, Evangelist19 Sun + 29th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME20 Mon feria, 29th Week of Year 221 Tue feria22 Wed feria or St John Paul II, Pope23 Thu feria or St John of Capistrano, Priest24 Fri feria or St Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop; Friday abstinence25 Sat feria or Blessed Virgin Mary26 Sun + 30th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME27 Mon feria, 30th Week of Year 228 Tue STS SIMON AND JUDE, Apostles29 Wed Blessed Martyrs of Douai College30 Thu feria31 Fri feria; Friday abstinence

Published by The Diocese of Westminster, Archbishop’s House, Ambrosden Avenue, London SW1P 1QJ. Printed by NWN Media Limited, Mold, Flintshire. All rights reserved.

Spotlight Westminster Record | October 2014



Continued from front page

Similarly, when preparingcouples for marriage, thepreparation should ‘includeopening up and inviting thecouple to see and understandmarriage as a sacrament andeach other as instruments ofgrace in that sacrament.’

He pointed out thatmarriage is ‘a witness tosociety’ and should be an‘actor’ in that society for its good.

As he takes his place in theSynod, the Cardinal will beaddressing these themes.

Synod: Ordinary andExtraordinary

By definition, a synod ofbishops gathers in generalsession to deal with matterswhich directly concern thegood of the entire Church.According to Canon Law, it is

an extraordinary synod if it‘deals with matters whichrequire a speedy solution’.The Cardinal will take a directpart in the proceedings of theSynod as President of theBishops' Conference ofEngland and Wales.

As Cardinal Vincentexplained, this ExtraordinarySynod is only one part of aprocess which began lastautumn and will continue intoa General Synod in autumn2015, most likely concludingwith the issue of a papaldocument, such as anExhortation, for example, in 2016.

In the first stage in autumn2013 a questionnaire waspresented to Catholics aroundthe world to find out howthey understood the teachingsof the Church about theSacrament of Matrimony andtheir lived experience of

marriage. By now, most of usare familiar with the concernsraised by respondents in theWest about the pastoral needsof divorced and remarriedCatholics. In other parts of theworld, however, other themesand concerns, such aspolygamy and the frequentsituation of abandonedfamilies emerged. Theseconcerns, as well as thegeneral themes aroundmarriage and family lifewhich emerged from thequestionnaire, weresummarised in a workingdocument called theInstrumentum Laboris, whichwas widely distributedaround the world.

At the Consistory inFebruary, when CardinalVincent was admitted to theCollege of Cardinals, somepreliminary discussions tookplace among those who were

assembled as they began tothink about the challenges tothe family and themespresented in the workingdocument.

In addition to thePresidents of Bishops’Conferences from around theworld, the Synod in Octoberwill gather clergy, religiousand some lay representatives,including married couples.Unlike previous assemblies,when presentations weremade throughout the day anddiscussions then took place inthe evening, there will be timeset aside for discussion ofeach day’s theme in theafternoon. Also, for the firsttime, married couples will beinvited to address the Synodeach day, once the bishopentrusted with the day’s topichas opened the session withan explanation.

Patron SaintsThe Pope asked for a day

of prayer ahead of the Synod,which took place on 28 September.

He has also asked for theprayers of the two patronsaints of the Synod: Pope St John XXIII, as the 'guidedguide' inspired by the HolySpirit, and Pope St John PaulII, known as the Pope andTeacher of the Family.

The Synod onthe Family

The Instrumentum Laboris,other documents andcoverage of the Synod canbe found on the Vaticanwebsite Vatican.va/en, andthe Bishops’ Conferencewebsite at cbcew.org.uk.Updates will also beavailable on the Diocese ofWestminster website atrcdow.org.uk, where youcan also view CardinalVincent’s press conferencevideo.

westminster record october 2014

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