Catholic Women's Ordination

I should say that this piece is entirely my own personal opinion and I welcome comments.

CWO had a demonstration outside Westminster Cathedral this evening. I was passing by there with friends, Ross Kempsell and Matt Roche-Saunders, and this has led me to a quite interesting revelation.

Ross and Matt are both in their late teens: Ross is going to be the Boat-boy for the Pope at Westminster Cathedral (what an honour!), and Matt is a fellow Papal Visit Comms Officer, as well as a key aide to the amazing Fr Stephen Langridge. Our combined age (late 50s) was almost certainly lower than almost any of the protesters (there was possibly one who was younger, though she may have been a journalist).

I hope that this is the message that comes from the Papal Visit: the church is alive, the church is young, and it has moved on from these endless internal debates to look outwards and re-evangelise the world. We are called to be heralds of the Gospel. We are not fulfilling that role very effectively at the moment, I feel.

Oh and by the way, if you are in any doubt on the subject of women's ordination: Roma locuta est, causa finita est. Rome has spoken, the matter is settled. The Church has no authority, now or ever, to confer Holy Orders on a woman.

I was unsure whether to put up such a difficult post today, but I feel that is essential that we use the Papal Visit to move on from the constant reliving of the Second Vatican Council and that period of 'navel-gazing'. It was valuable, yes, but the time has come to change our focus. We live in a fiercely secular age and we must spread the Gospel: of which the essence is the person of Jesus Christ, and the love, mercy and forgiveness that flow from his redemptive sacrifice on the Cross.

God bless, readers.

From the Archbishop

When I was in Balham, Fr Stephen mentioned that +Peter Smith, our newly-minted Archbishop, has written to our schools about the Papal Visit.

Here's the full message from the Archdiocesan website:

Archbishop Peter has written personally to every college and school in Southwark
encouraging them to send students to the Papal Vigil at Hyde Park.

Each
school has been offered a substantial allocation of complementary Pilgrim Packs
and Passes for the Vigil.

The Archbishop is particularly keen that all
the young people of our diocese be given the opportunity to attend the Vigil
which will have a particular youth focus.

Passes can also be allocated
to the youth groups and other official organisations of the diocese.

For
more information please contact the diocesan Vocations Director,
Fr Stephen
Langridge, by emailing him at frstephen@hgbalham.com

In Balham

Tonight I was over in Balham for a meeting with the Balham & Lambeth Deanery groups of young people who are attending the Mass in Westminster Cathedral. It was a lovely and lively evening and the youngsters were very enthusiastic, which was great to see. A big thank you to Laura & Clare for their hard work. I was also able to catch up with Fr Stephen Langridge, the Parish Priest in Balham, who is also Director of Vocations for Southwark, and also Sam, Matt, Hannah, Steve & Marcus, who are all doing a huge amount to make the Papal Visit a success. Thanks guys! It's an amazing parish and it's always very revitalising to be with them all at the end of a long day......