By Melinda Le Blanc in The National Catholic Reporter (USA), 14 November 2020 It's true. God works in mysterious ways. Even through bread pudding. Before the virus pandemic occurred, I attended an evening of prayer at a local church. Attendees were invited to bring food to share as part of a social hour. I had…
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US bishops, please suppress the cult of St. John Paul II
By the Editorial Staff in The National Catholic Reporter (USA) 13 November 2020 In many, many ways, Pope John Paul II was an admirable man. The last decades of the 20th century were enriched immeasurably by his deft use of papal statecraft in raising up the voices of oppressed peoples across Eastern Europe, in his…
Homily, Christ the King (A) 2020
In so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me. (Matthew 25:40) Although I’ve previously shared the following story with members of Holy Name, I think it is worth repeating today, even if you have heard it before. It’s about an…
Homily, 33rd Sunday (A) 2020
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…
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…
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