De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

The English Weekly Edition of L'Osservatore Romano publishes an article attacking dissenters of Amoris laetitia , saying Pope Francis supports the Kasper proposal (explicitly rejected at the two Synods). By anyone's standards this would seem quite extraordinary, but it is also printing verifiable error! This paragraph (below) is completely ridiculous as well as being verifiably false. What an extraordinary thing for L'Osservatore to print?! This question has been addressed before, by Jesus Christ. It was also addressed in Familiaris Consortio  (no. 84) which upheld the Church’s perennial practice of “not admitting to Eucharistic Communion divorced persons who have remarried,” unless they “take upon themselves the duty to live in complete continence.” Pope St. John Paul II actually emphasises the permanence of the discipline by insisting that it is “based on Sacred Scripture” (84). In 1994, after a number of bishops and theologians had put forward certain p...

Ullswater seen from Hallin Fell I didn't write over the half-term, mostly because I was too exhausted! I went to Cumbria to spend some time with friends in the Lake District. I was up early walking as much as possible. By the time we got back in the evening and had dinner, bed was very welcome. I found this immensely satisfying I have to say. The trip was most enjoyable, an opportunity to spend time in Catholic company with a family who are committed Catholics living a Catholic life. This means that the faith informs everything they live. I find this time so beneficial for my family, who are completely comfortable in this environment. It is like being at home, in your own country, where like minded people share the same goals, aspirations and values as you do. Sadly in England today it seems that if you are Catholic, you are swimming very much against the current! Our friend's children are just a little older than our own, and this provides a wonderful opportunity for m...

Loving the family means being able to appreciate its values and capabilities, fostering them always. Loving the family means identifying the dangers and the evils that menace it, in order to overcome them. Loving the family means endeavoring to create for it an environment favorable for its development. The modern Christian family is often tempted to be discouraged and is distressed at the growth of its difficulties; it is an eminent form of love to give it back its reasons for confidence in itself, in the riches that it possesses by nature and grace, and in the mission that God has entrusted to it. "Yes indeed, the families of today must be called back to their original position. They must follow Christ." Familiaris Consortio n. 86 One thing I cannot help but wonder about is why, in the run up to the forthcoming Synod on the family, nobody has mentioned a prayerful re-read of Pope Saint John Paul II's masterful encyclical on the family as a starting point? Familiar...

Having been through a course of counselling myself recently I found this article , by Andrew Plasom-Scott, on Non-Directive Counselling very interesting. I am particularly impressed that it is careful to explain the positive benefits of this form of counselling, giving examples of situations from personal experience where it has wrought powerful benefits for clients. However, in certain circumstances, it can also be problematic as it ultimately relies on a decision of conscience, and leading a client to consider what their conscience is leading them towards. The success of such a technique is necessarily limited by the degree to which a client's conscience is formed. Conscience must be informed and moral judgment enlightened. The education of conscience is indispensable for human beings who are subjected to negative influences and tempted by sin to prefer their own judgment and to reject authoritative teachings ( CCC 1783 ). The education of the conscience is a lifelong task...

I've been thinking about the difficult situation faced by much of our clergy in this country today. There are, what, 11 episcopal vacancies at present? That demonstrates a worrying lack of support for our priests. Priests should be united to their Bishops in a special communion of sacrament and ministry, through which the Church, the mystical Body of Christ, is built up. As St. Irenaeus testified, it is through those who were appointed bishops by the apostles, and through their successors down in our own time, the apostolic tradition is manifested and preserved. ( LG 20 ). Priests need bishops to refer to, to validate their commitment to the whole body of the Church; their unity. This is an key dimension, because a bishop has no authority apart from that of the pope, and unless he is teaching the faith of the Apostles ( LG 22 ). The fact that we have so many diocese where we have no bishops at the moment really worries me. Those bishops like ours in Brentwood who h...

My Family, with Mary Therese's Godparents, Andy and Norah, on the occasion of her Baptism. I'm not sure why John is making the Vulcan 'live long & prosper' sign there, but anyway... The BBC  here  asserts that a new report on family breakdown says that a million UK children are growing up without a father in their lives. The Centre for Social Justice report says lone parent families are increasing by more than 20,000 a year and will top two million by the next general election. Some areas are virtual "men deserts" due to the high number of fatherless households, it adds. This is a shocking trend in our society which can only be furthered by a continued erosion of the building block of our society: marriage. As Sarah Teather recently pointed out , Once the concept of marriage has become established in social consciousness as an entirely private matter about love and commitment alone, without any link to family, I fear that it will accelerate ...