Kicking Christians Again-Mike Weatherley MP

Mike Weatherley, so-called Conservative MP for Hove, has written to David Cameron demanding that Christian churches be forced to marry gay people when the Coalition makes gay marriages legal. Yet another assault on religious freedom in this country.

We had Catholic adoption agencies having to close a few years ago under the last government, who refused to tolerate our views on adoption. It's interesting that if you go in one shop and they don't have what you want you just go to another one, the government doesn't force shops to all sell the same items. But now Catholic people who may want to put a child up for adoption probably won't because they don't want the child adopted by a gay couple.

How soon before churches are again forced underground as the state attacks our right to religious freedom? Was there really a change of government last year?

Guild of Catholic Bloggers

On May 7th I was privileged to join a group of Catholic bloggers at Westminster Cathedral. The purpose was to launch The Guild of Catholic Bloggers. One of the key decisions was to launch an umbrella blog and thus The Guild of Blessed Titus Brandsma was born.

The knowledge and depth of faith of those present was the most impressive part of the day. I have been a practising Catholic most of my life but in the last couple of years I have been on a journey of discovery. Like many of us I have attended Mass, prayed when in need and that has been about it. But, partly due to persistent attacks on Christianity by militant atheists, I have not only felt the need to stand up and be counted, but also to look deeper into my faith. The Guild of Titus Brandsma will be an excellent support and resource for Catholics, and those wanting to find out about Catholicism everywhere.

I don't call myself a Catholic blogger, I am a Catholic who blogs. This is not a Catholic blog although it is influenced by my Catholicism. If you are curious about the Roman Catholic church and want to find out more I suggest that you, like me, take a look at some of the blogs in my side bar under the heading Catholic Blogs I Like To Visit.

Many thanks to Lawrence of That The Bones You Have Crushed May Thrill for his hard work on developing the blog. Long may it prosper.

Guild of Catholic Bloggers

Shamelessly lifted from Fr Sam's blog (link below).

Yesterday was the day that the Catholic bloggers gathered in Westminster, and a great day it was too.

If you take a few minutes you will see that this blog is a blog written by a Catholic, and increasingly influenced by my faith. Most people present yesterday write what I would describe as Catholic blogs. I find these blogs inspirational as well as informative and they are a great source for any Catholic, especially someoneone increasingly looking deeper into, and exploring the reality of his faith. But equally importantly they are a wonderful source for people wanting to find the truth about Roman Catholicism rather than depending on the jaundiced, often downright hostile ramblings in the mainstream media. They are written by real people living their faith, and it was a privelege to spend time with them and to actually meet after communicating through the blogosphere for some time in most cases.

So after arrriving in London I was in time to attend the 12-30 Mass at Westminster Cathedral and to light a candle at the shrine to Blessed Pope John Paul II. An inveterate people watcher I spotted several people also in attendance who were later at the bloggers' gathering. Unfortunately my train didn't arrive early enough for me to be at the 10-30 Latin Mass, which at least one other was able to get to.

A Reluctant Sinner did a tremendous job organising the room and preparing an agenda, this on top of travelling to Rome earlier in the week for the gathering there of bloggers from all over the world, many thanks for that. However if you put a group of bloggers together in a room chairing the meeting is a little like herding cats, and the conversation meandered. But I thought the day was all the better for that and it proved incredibly informative and enjoyable not to say uplifting.

In the end we agreed on developing an umbrella blog to which  'members' will contribute as well as linking to their own blogs. I say 'members' because it looks like developing in a much more informal way than a traditional membership organisation with absolutely minimal organisational structure. Our primary role will be as a way of promoting the work of the Church and as a resource for each other and Catholic bloggers generally, whether they attend our occasional real life gatherings or prefer to communicate via the 'blogosphere'.

So a fruitful day was had by all and I'm sure all present would agree with that. But there are already two further blog posts on yesterday's event on other blogs. And here they are:

Medley Minute with Father Sam 

A Reluctant Sinner

I'm sure that more will follow and I will happily update as people blog their take on yesterday's events.

Guild of Catholic Bloggers

The following post is taken from the blog A Reluctant Sinner. I'm looking forward to being there on May 7th and I'm sure there will be a good attendance to launch an exciting project.

From all the responses and emails I've now received in connection with Monday's post (A Guild of Catholic Bloggers - what do you think?), it seems that the launching of a Guild of Catholic Bloggers might actually be a realistic possibility! There appears to be a need for some sort of mutual aid society for those Catholics (including Anglo-Catholics) who use the new media to converse with the world.


Catholic bloggers are now leading the way when it comes to on-line evangelisation, promotion of the faith and apologetics - so it is probably important for us to be able to meet other bloggers in person, discuss ideas over meals or at workshops, and worship together every now and again. It would also be good for us to be inspired by spiritual conferences, invite priests or bishops to address us, and encourage one another face-to-face (blogging, after all, can be a lonely affair!)


Seeing that many of you have offered to help set up a Guild of Catholic Bloggers, I have now booked a place in central London for the purpose of holding an informal meeting with the view of electing temporary officers and drawing up a constitution. So, if any of you are free on Saturday 7 May from 2:00pm - 4:00pm, you would be most welcome to join me at the Hinsley Room next to Westminster Cathedral. As some of you know, the Hinsley Room is a stand-alone building behind St Paul's Bookshop and St Vincent's School - on Morpeth Terrace. I will be there from 1:00pm, and you will be able to bring sandwiches / packed-lunches with you - the tea and coffee will be on me!


It would be great if as many Catholic bloggers, twitterers, Facebookers, and friends / blog followers were able to attend this meeting, so that plans for any potential Guild of Catholic Bloggers may be drawn up. From my previous post, you will have noticed that some very useful suggestions have already been proposed. On Saturday 7 May, it might be possible to gather these ideas into a comprehensive constitution - no more than a page! It is hoped that we might also be able to elect a temporary chairman, secretary and treasurer - to deal with the day-to-day practicalities of launching such a lay association. (I am hopeless at such things - so am looking for volunteers!).


Some of the things that will need discussing include: -
1. Membership (cost, conditions, etc)
2. Officers (terms, functions, etc)
3. Purpose and aims (to strengthen the faith and aid the spirituality of Catholic bloggers)
4. Events (Work-shops, retreats, pilgrimages, etc)
5. AGM and Annual Mass, etc
I am sure that there will be more items on the day's agenda, once other bloggers have thought of things to add!


So, if you happen to be in central London, or are able to come to Westminster Cathedral, on Saturday 7 May, then please let me know - either in the Comments section or by email (below)! Also, please do pass this on to other bloggers and twitterers (twitterati?). The more, the merrier!


PS - Those able to get to the Cathedral early might wish to attend the 10:30am or 12:30pm Masses before the meeting.

More Oppression of Christians

I've been away on a training course for a few days and came blinking out of the hotel into the daylight again yesterday evening. I always leave residential courses feeling like I know the other participants as well as I know my family, and expecting the world will have somehow changed while I've been ensconced in a dreary chain hotel. Sadly, the world just trundles on.

Yesterday I heard the news that a Christian couple who run a bed and breakfast have become the latest victims of the police state. They have fallen foul of the law for refusing a room to a  gay couple. The gay couple, rather than just go elsewhere, ran off to the police like a pair of big cissies. Now when I smoked, and the habit was tolerated, in the days before the police state forbade it, if I saw a bed and breakfast that was 'strictly non smoking' I just passed it and went to one with a more libreral attitude. Why couldn' this gay couple do likewise?

I'm a Roman Catholic and there are obviously things that I disapprove of, divorce being one. I am married until the day I die to one woman. Even if she did leave me, unlikely after nearly 25 years I hope, I would still regard myself as married. But I wouldn't stop other people from being allowed to divorce. I have gay friends. If they came to stay with us I would have no problem with them sharing a bedroom in our house. But if others refuse them that convenience, it is their choice.

We now live in a country where minority wishes repeatedly override the majority, where the majority are refused choice in order to accomodate the minority. I vehemently disapprove of gay adoption just as I oppose 70 year old women using IVF to become pregnant. Until recently Catholic adption agencies were allowed to work in the interests of children and Catholic couples who couldn't have children. The state has now closed down Catholic adoption agencies. For years if gay couples went to Catholic agencies they were discreetly pointed in the direction of agencies that did approve of gay adoption. No problem there, all views and beliefs were catered for. But no, the state decided what our agencies were doing was illegal and there are now no Catholic adoption agencies.

I may not approve of certain things, but I don't want them banned. Sadly in our 21st century tyranny choice for many of us is being crushed on an almost daily basis.   

After the Papal Visit

What a few days we've just witnessed. Attending the Beatification Mass in Birmingham was my personal highlight of a fantastic four days. For millions who couldn't attend any of the events, the TV coverage was excellent, and gave millions of people outside the church an insight into what being a Roman Catholic really means.

But now the Pope has returned to the Vatican and we must carry on, inspired and heartened by his presence and his words. There are many ways we can live our faith and we have a duty to try hard to do that. Faith is more than thoughts and words, although they are important, it is about how we live our lives day to day.

The modern media gives even the busiest person the chance to pray. Before Easter I went on a retreat to Pantasaph Friary in Wales. The few days there were so rewarding and, among other things, I decided to continue with my morning and evening prayers after the retreat, especially as Fr Louis Maggiore had been kind enough to give me a fine prayer book.

But many people are so busy they find making time for prayers difficult. Step forward Universalis. This gives you the chance to spend a few minutes at the start and end of your day to pray at your desk.

We must work hard to be guided in our everyday lives by our faith, and to defend our faith even when that may be difficult. If we ignore the guidance of our faith when we take positions of responsiblity, what is the purpose of our faith? We must all try hard to do what we know is right, even if that is difficult at the time and may make our lives less comfortable as a consequence.

The Pope inspired us all on his visit and there are things I intend to do differently as a consequence of his wisdom. We all have a duty to question what we do and why we do things, and to continue learning and trying hard to improve as human beings. We owe that not just to God, but to each other.

An interesting article on the Papal Visit from the Telegraph Online.

From the Mail Online.

An account of yesterday's Beatification Mass from the Telegraph Online.

Victory For Commonsense Over Harriet Harperson

Equality dinosaur and Bitchfinder General Harriet Harperson has backed away from a confrontation with the churches:

Harriet Harman has backed away from a confrontation with religious leaders over who they can employ, making clear that she will not force contentious amendments to the Equality Bill through Parliament.

Ministers were astonished on Monday when the Pope said that the Bill violated “natural justice” and urged bishops to fight it. But that attack, along with the strength of opposition in the Lords and the limited time left to get Bills passed before the election, has sapped the Government’s enthusiasm to continue the fight.

Full story.

Wouldn't it be fantastic if she copped a 'Portillo' on May 6th the dreary old bag?!

Merry Christmas And Peace To All

As head honcho of this esteemed blog I am closing Blog Towers so that we can all start the Christmas celebrations nice and early.

Whether you are a practising Christian or not, I thought that the following extract from Pope John XXIII's Christmas message may even today have some resonance, especially with what is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pope gave this message on 23 December 1959, when I was 10 weeks old!

Christian peace

The appearance of peace is threefold:

Peace of the heart:

Peace is before all else an interior thing, belonging to the spirit, and its fundamental condition is a loving and filial dependence on the will of God. "Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless till it rests in Thee" (St. Augustine's Confessions, 1, I, 1, 1, P.L., 32, 661).

All that weakens, that breaks, that destroys this conformity and union of wills is opposed to peace. First of all and before all is wrongdoing, sin. "Who hath resisted him and hath had peace?" (Job 9:4). Peace is the happy legacy of those who keep the divine law. "Much peace have they who love thy law" (Psalms 118:165).

For its part, good will is only the sincere determination to respect the eternal laws of God, to conform oneself to His commandments and to follow His paths—in a word, to abide in the truth. This is the glory which God expects to receive from man. "Peace to men of good will."

Social peace:

This is solidly based on the mutual and reciprocal respect for the personal dignity of man. The Son of God was made man, and His redeeming act concerns not only the collectivity, but also the individual man.

He "loved me and gave himself up for me." Thus spoke St. Paul to the Galatians (Gal. 2:20). And if God has loved man to such a degree, that indicates that man is of interest to Him and that the human person has an absolute right to be respected.

Such is the teaching of the Church which, for the solution of these social questions, has always fixed her gaze on the human person and has taught that things and institutions—goods, the economy, the state—are primarily for man; not man for them.

The disturbances which unsettle the internal peace of nations trace their origins chiefly to this source: that man has been treated almost exclusively as a machine, a piece of merchandise, a worthless cog in some great machine or a mere productive unit.

It is only when the dignity of the person comes to be taken as the standard of value for man and his activities that the means will exist to settle civil discord and the often profound divisions between, for example, employers and the employed. Above all, it is only then that the means will exist to secure for the institution of the family those conditions of life, work and assistance which are capable of making it better directed to its function as a cell of society and the first community instituted by God Himself for the development of the human person.

No peace will have solid foundations unless hearts nourish the sentiment of brotherhood which ought to exist among all who have a common origin and are called to the same destiny. The knowledge that they belong to the same family extinguishes lust, greed, pride and the instinct to dominate others, which are the roots of dissensions and wars. It binds all in a single bond of higher and more fruitful solidarity.

International peace:

The basis of international peace is, above all, truth. For in international relations, too, the Christian saying is valid: "The truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).

It is necessary, then, to overcome certain erroneous ideas: the myths of force, of nationalism or of other things that have prevented the integrated life of nations. And it is necessary to impose a peaceful living together on moral principles, according to the teaching of right reason and of Christian doctrine.

Along with this, and enlightened by truth, should come justice. This removes the causes of quarrels and wars, solves the disputes, fixes the tasks, defines the duties and gives the answer to the claims of each party.

Justice in its turn ought to be integrated and sustained by Christian charity. That is, love for one's neighbor and one's own people ought not to be concentrated on one's self in an exclusive egotism which is suspicious of another's good. But it ought to expand and reach out spontaneously toward the community of interests, to embrace all peoples and to interweave common human relations. Thus it will be possible to speak of living together, and not of mere coexistence which, precisely because it is deprived of this inspiration of mutual dependence, raises barriers behind which nestle mutual suspicion, fear and terror.

However you will be celebrating Christmas, I hope you have a wonderful peaceful time with good company, good food and very light hangovers.

Authoritarian Tyranny

Just as Christians are persecuted by authoritarian tyrants all over the world, so we are in the UK.

If a registrar has a deeply held belief that civil partnerships are wrong why can their view, on religious and moral grounds, not be tolerated. After all there must be any number of registrars who would do the ceremony.

Similarly with gay adoption. Catholic agencies are closing down because the state dictates that they must allow gay adoption against the fundamental tenets of the Catholic faith. Again there are any number of adoption agencies that will happily become involved in gay adoption.

What happened to religious tolerance? What happened to respecting the views of minorities? What happened to freedom of conscience? What happened to freedom of choice?

From the BBC.

Bishop of Lancaster And Gay Adoption

There has been an ongoing 'dialogue' between the Bishop of Lancaster, Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue, and the Catholic Caring Services in the diocese. For those who don't know the Catholic Caring Services provide adoption, among other services, to Roman Catholics. The problem is that government legislation means that from January 2009 adoption agencies will be forced to offer their services to gay and lesbian couples. This goes completely against the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church.

This morning at Mass we were informed that the situation has worsened. The trustees have voted to accept the new legislation and offer their services to same sex couples. As a consequence the Bishop has informed them that if they do go against the teaching of the Church, then he will have no option but to remove their designation as a Catholic service and sever their links to the diocese. Thank God for a Catholic Bishop who upholds the faith.

I am not clear about the complete ins and outs of the situation but suspect that the trustees are running more scared of the government and its enforcement agencies than they are of the Church or the Bishop of Lancaster. Those trustees who voted to abdicate their responsibilities won't be joining the honourable list of Lancashire martyrs, those who faced death not just malicious prosecution, defending their faith.