It is estimated that almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than £3.50 a day, and that at least 80% of humanity lives on less than £15 a day. Here in the UK, on the other hand, we are incredibly wealthy by comparison. I know that some of us may be…
Author: Fr Michael Campion
Abusive Church ‘betrayed’ its moral purpose
By Catherine Pepinster in THE TABLET, 10 November 2020 The Catholic Church betrayed its moral purpose by prioritising its own reputation over bringing child abusers to book and turning a blind eye to sex assaults, according to the official report from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. Survivors of child sexual abuse by Catholic priests,…
Bishops’ Conference Statement on the Publication of the IICSA Report
The Catholic Church in England and Wales welcomes the Report from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse relating to the institutional response of the Church in its duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation. We thank the IICSA Panel for their work. The Report will now inform the ongoing reform…
The Ethics of Lockdown – is the harm it causes justified?
by Alberto Giubilini in The Spectator, 6 November 2020 Is it ethical to lock us down again? This is not a facetious question. Over the past eight months, we have heard a great deal about the policies used to manage the virus, but very little about the ethics. This is a mistake. We should be asking how…
Homily, 32nd Sunday (A) 2020
I have told this story to Church members here at Holy Name before but I think it is worth repeating. It concerns a little girl whose family lived near a beach. She had a grandfather whom she loved very much and she always looked forward to visiting him. Her grandfather had a collection of hourglasses…
Homily, All Saints 2020
If you have ever been to Rome you will know that one building, apart from the Vatican, worth visiting is the Parthenon. Its erection was commissioned by Marcus Agrippa during the reign of Augustus who lived up to the time Jesus was 14 years old. After it burned down, it was rebuilt by the Emperor…
Pope was right to come out for gay unions
By Libby Purves in THE TIMES, 26 October 2020. Pope Francis, though probably not on purpose, chose a good moment for a bombshell. Pandemic anxiety, domestic confinement, separations and bereavements have made the world aware of what is good in life. The over-important, the frivolous and the priggishly doctrinaire have been reminded in lockdown months…
Dear Pope Francis, six reasons you should wear a mask
By Thomas Reece in The National Catholic Reporter (USA) 21 October 2020 Dear Pope Francis, it is extremely disappointing that almost all the photos of you since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic have shown you without a mask. This is bad on so many levels. You should know better. Please, wear a mask. Your…
Homily, 30th Sunday (A) 2020
It was generally agreed by rabbis in Our Lord’s time that the Law of Moses, contained in the first five books of the Bible, contained 613 commandments in all. There was agreement also that 248 of these were positive commandments (‘thou shalt’) corresponding to the number of parts of the human body and 365 were…
Pope Francis backing same sex unions isn’t a surprise. But it’s still a big deal
By James Alison in THE GUARDIAN, 22 October 2020 I had no advance knowledge either of Evgeny Afineevsky’s documentary, Francesco, or the interview in it that contains Pope Francis’ new formulation of his earlier position on same-sex civil unions. However, it didn’t come as a surprise to me. Anyone with any pastoral experience knows that…
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