De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

Above: The Marian Franciscans at last year's March4Life where I last met them. Has Bishop Egan completely capitulated to progressivism? Is he under pressure to conform to the establishment? Is he trying to be "inclusive"? Is he in the running for Westminster, perhaps? I honestly never thought I would find myself concerned with the bishop of Portsmouth, Philip Egan. When discussing who Catholics can trust in the episcopacy, his name is always mentioned as a solid bishop. Egan, 67, has been bishop of Portsmouth diocese since 2012 and has long been considered a safe pair of hands by faithful Catholics. In a 2014 interview, he generated controversy for his views that MPs who voted for same-sex marriage should be banned from receiving communion . He also wrote to PM David Cameron regarding so called same sex marriage. He has a decent record of standing up for the faith, but something seems awry lately . For example, I hear whispers that there is a serious disregard for catec...

If I'm honest, finding it really hard to love the Church at the moment. I feel like a large part of my life - the sacramental part of my life - has been taken away from me without any explanation, substitution or warning. It really feels like the bishops have closed down Catholicism, withdrawn from every day life and have made little or no effort to engage, encourage or provide any spiritual substance for the laity in the absence of a public Catholic life. The slack, thank God, has been taken up manfully by so many of our priests who have acted swiftly to provide online liturgies and I think that people could be exposed more than ever before in their lives to adoration, benediction, the divine office and Mass. Meanwhile, on social media, many of the Catholics I so admire and know have a real and devout faith seem much more interested in fighting each other than those betraying the Church.  Despite all this, I never find it hard to love Jesus. So I speak to Him & tell h...

My friend Clare Short was recently privileged to get to interview Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth Diocese. Bishop Egan was consecrated as the eighth Bishop of the diocese at St John’s Cathedral, Portsmouth on 24 September 2012, the feast of Our Lady of Walsingham. At the time of his appointment Egan was serving as the Vicar General of the Diocese of Shrewsbury. Bishop Egan has often been the subject of blog posts here because he is brave, erudite and faithful. He has seen great strides forward in his diocese on evangelisation and vocations even in the short time he has been in charge, proving once again that faithfulness and orthodoxy foster fruit. This interview provides some keen insight into the man and his vision. I hope you enjoy it and please do leave any comments you feel are relevant.

It appears I am not the only one impressed with Pope Francis's new encyclical. I had to share this pastoral message from Bishop Phillip Egan of Portsmouth. The man is a God-send, really speaking out for the faith and making so much sense! He has published this brilliant Pastoral Message on Lumen Fidei which I really do recommend you read in its entirety. I have added emphasis in bold type for especially powerful parts of his message, and my own interjections in red . PASTORAL MESSAGE TO WELCOME ‘ LUMEN FIDEI ’ The following is a Pastoral Message from Bishop Philip to the priests and people of the Diocese of Portsmouth on the publication of Pope Francis’ first encyclical, Lumen Fidei . This Pastoral Message was issued on 9th July, 2013. The encyclical is available online from [the Vatican Website here ] Dear Sisters and Brothers in Faith, On 29th June this year, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, Pope Francis published his first Encyclical Letter to the Church, calle...

Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth at his episcopal ordination Mass yesterday (Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk) I am so excited about the appointment of Bishop Philip Egan. He is a friend of my Parish Priest (mind you, I'm beginning to think everyone is a friend of my PP) and I have heard wonderful things about him, extremely intelligent and loyally Catholic, a true servant of Christ and His Church. Surely this is what we need, now more than ever? To inspire vocations, we require inspirational bishops and priests. To inspire the faithful, we need intelligent theologians who can communicate the beauty and relevance of Christ's revelation about the truth of our existence. Check out Bishop Egan's address to his new diocese, reported by Father Ray which is clearly demonstrative of the new bishop's propensity in these regards! "Dear fellow pilgrims on life's journey, we inhabit a remarkable century, the 21st, which despite the current economic distemper, is witness...