I've said several times in the past that the Ordinariate will enrich Catholic life if it brings with it some of the beauty and breadth of the Anglican communion. Rather than narrowing down our understanding of what it means to be Catholic, it could introduce new perspectives and insights. Here is evidence that this might indeed be the case:
The first Ordinary of the recently-established Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, Father Keith Newton, has a strong belief in the importance of working for social justice, insisting that you cannot be a Christian without working for Kingdom values while on earth.
Speaking from his home in Woodford Green, East London this week, Father Newton said he believes the Anglican and Catholic Churches have a lot of common ground in their approach to issues like abortion. But he was also keen to stress the importance of interpreting pro-life in its broadest sense of from cradle to grave. “Third world debt is equally as important as abortion,” said Fr Newton, who sees confronting poverty in the world as key priority for Christians.
(To read more, go to this link).
And now for the bad news - this is from this week's Tablet:
Vatican blocks re-election of Caritas Internationalis chief
Robert Mickens19 February 2011
The global Catholic development agency Caritas Internationalis (CI) is reeling after the Vatican took the highly unusual step of officially blocking Lesley-Anne Knight from running for a second four-year term as CI secretary general.
The Tablet has learned that three weeks ago the Vatican’s Secretariat of State refused to grant Dr Knight the necessary nihil obstat required for all candidates for the key position. The CI bureau – which includes the international president, secretary general, treasurer and seven regional presidents – has asked the Vatican to “reconsider the decision”. Elections for the 2011-2015 posts of secretary general and international president – currently held respectively by Dr Knight and Cardinal Oscar RodrÃguez Maradiaga SDB of Honduras – are to take place during the CI general assembly in late May in Rome.
Cardinal RodrÃguez wrote to all directors of the 165-member international confederation on 5 February to inform them of the Vatican’s decision. The letter, which was seen by The Tablet, notes that Secretariat of State officials met a CI delegation on that same day and gave only a verbal account of why the Vatican refused to approve Dr Knight’s candidacy. The cardinal does not mention those reasons in his letter, but does say that the CI bureau, in an extraordinary meeting, “expressed their incomprehension at the reasons provided” and “reaffirmed their positive view of Lesley-Anne Knight’s work for Caritas and the Church”.
An official at a national Caritas member agency who spoke on condition of anonymity opined that Dr Knight may have been rejected because she been “critical of the Vatican machine, has made no secret of it and has failed to be discreet”. But the official praised her for “professionalising” the Rome headquarters, tackling debt and reforming financial operations. Another Caritas source said there is a sense among some Vatican officials that Dr Knight has not done enough to instil a specifically Catholic identity and sense of evangelisation into the confederation’s mission and activities.
“It is true that she is yet to receive the nihil obstat,” Caritas Internationalis said in an official statement given to The Tablet on Wednesday. The statement confirmed that, nonetheless, “Lesley-Anne Knight has submitted her candidacy for secretary general.”
Caritas Internationalis has had periodic difficulties with some Vatican officials, especially at the pontifical human development council Cor Unum, during the past several decades. But last year tensions came to a head after Cor Unum’s president, Cardinal Paul Cordes, designated a CI confederation member to coordinate the Catholic Church’s relief efforts in Haiti (see The Tablet, 30 January 2010). He never consulted with Dr Knight or her office over the move and the CI secretary general made no secret of her displeasure.
Cardinal Cordes, a German close to Pope Benedict, retired as Cor Unum president last October. But before doing so he gave Vatican backing to a new organisation called “Caritas in Veritatis Internationalis”, which looks uncannily like a group specifically designed to replicate the Caritas confederation.
Read about the work of Caritas here.
Some who claim to love the Church will welcome this example of strong leadership crushing the opposition. I also love the Church, and I think the present leaders should look to the Middle East to see what happens when authoritarian regimes seek to retain power by silencing and bullying their most loyal critics. Authoritarianism takes over when genuine authority is lacking, and genuine authority has to be earned through a process of trust, transparency and respect.
Could you keep us informed on this one please.
ReplyDeleteFrom the www-
"Lesley-Anne Knight was appointed Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis during the 2007 General Assembly. She is the first woman ever to have been elected to this position.
A British citizen, born in Zimbabwe, Lesley-Anne, 51, has more than 25 years of experience in international development. She has lived and worked in eight countries in Africa, Latin America, and Europe and speaks English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German. She holds a degree in English, French, Logic and Metaphysics and post-graduate qualifications in Business Management.
Before coming to Caritas Internationalis, Lesley-Anne was International Director of CAFOD (Caritas England and Wales), where she was responsible for a staff of more than 200 people working in over 60 countries. She previously served as CAFOD's Programme Manager for Latin America and the Caribbean and Head of Programme and Partner Support.
In addition to her experience with CAFOD, Lesley-Anne worked in Guatemala and Mexico during the 1980s for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and OXFAM, and in 1999 was Emergencies Director of the UK-based charity HelpAge International, where she was responsible for humanitarian and emergency relief programmes in Northern Iraq, Kosovo/Macedonia, Mozambique, and India."
(That baby is adorable)
We all know that the Church has a lot to learn in the way it treats people, particularly ladies, at times.On the face of it this would seem to be an injustice. But since the Tablet and Mr Mickens are involved in the reporting I wonder what they are not telling us. A "highly unusual" step indeed.
ReplyDelete"Hmmm... seems Tina Beattie has had a change of heart if this is to be believed (scroll down to the end)"
ReplyDelete[An Appeal to the Holy Father on Clarification of Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum. Signatures p.43, Number 2147 dated 18 Feb 2011]
Is this genuine?
Hello. The computer is not showing your new post and gives the date 10 Feb.
ReplyDeleteThe comment from Auricularis is off the link you sometimes show by the way.
I think the photograph the priest shows is patronising. This matter seems like injustice whatever the sex of the people concerned.
He is like no priest I have ever known. Its nothing but liturgy and pomp. The photos of the church show a lot of grey-haired old men.
I went to a talk at the nearby convent by a good priest Someone asked if he felt lonely or envious because 3 priests he works with are ex-Anglicans with wives. They go home to a roast Sunday lunch and a cuddle she said. He said no. One woman who was unbelieving said Really and truly? He said " Have you met their wives!" Everybody laughed. Then he got hold of her hands and said with a smile " but if it had been you..."
He still makes the sign of the cross in his car when he drives past Catholic churches (I've seen it) He was alone. Nobody was watching,but he couldn't care less about fancy liturgy.
I hope the facts will come to light about Dr. Knight and it is not because she has dared to question doctrines. I bet the German theologians know.
The Church is in serious decline and this post gives an idea why- "trust, transparency, respect" gone. Silencing and bullying exposed.
ReplyDeleteI went into a "dead" church once- Gorton Monastery.The population had shifted, the congregation dwindled and finally closure and deconsecration. An old altar boy set about restoration of the ruins. A ceremony was held to unveil a statue in honour of Mother Teresa, monks, priests, laypeople present. Hundreds. Everyone left the huge, empty, pewless church to gather outside around the covered work of art. I was left alone to wait on a convenient chair being unable to stand.
I looked around to locate the source of pulsating waves of warmth that I felt coming from the walls.
There was no heating.
I have reached the conclusion that what I experienced were the prayers and hopes and fears of thousands of Irish immigrants, the baptisms, the marriages, the devotions of devout Catholic families gone forever but whose lives are recorded,somehow impregnated in and remembered by those walls.
Because the Church has stagnated will we ever see the like again.
@Auricularis
ReplyDeleteThank you Auricularis for pointing this out - I much appreciate it. No, I haven't had a change of heart - I didn't sign the petition (although actually, I welcome the Latin Mass as one of the riches of Catholic liturgical life, so long as it's as well as and not instead of the postconciliar rite).
Perhaps Conservatives (for whom the petition is intended) are not above resorting to a little fraud now and again to boost unpopular causes? I tried to post a comment on the blog to which the petition is attached asking for my name to be removed, but only 'team members' are allowed to comment and there's no indication as to how one becomes a team member. So - fraud and a lack of accountability. Hmmmmm. Not encouraging, is it?
Bes wishes,
Tina.
Perhaps , shock! horror! There are two Tina Beatties in the world??
ReplyDelete@Anonymous
ReplyDeleteI have a conservative doppelganger. She must be the heretic they all keep going on about. What a relief!
Since there are no pictures on the petition we cannot be sure.
ReplyDeleteI doubt too many heretics signed that petition. I prefer the word traditional to conservative. In other words the people on there really "are Church"!!
@Anonymous
ReplyDelete"All of you Conservatives, please go to this site to appeal to our Pope Benedict XVI": when I used the word 'Conservatives', I was quoting from the blog. Do you think the capital 'C' means that only Tory Catholics need sign? Do you think that the other 'Tina Beattie' might be Anne Widdecombe in disguise?
The plot thickens!
Tina.
Anne Widdecombe whilst a Tory Catholic, is very much a Novus Ordo lady, usually attending the Cathedral on Sunday evening. Nothing wrong with that, if thats your thing. But the rest of us have to be accomodated too, and we are not being.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, everyone sing along.......One Tina Beattie, theres only one Tina Beattie, one Tina Beattie...... sound Mexican when you sing it!!
"Unpopular Causes" I think not Ms Beattie. The coffee smell is everywhere.One needs to be awake and open to smell it though.
ReplyDeletePolite Notice. Fraud and Identity Theft.
ReplyDeleteRSPB. Roehampton Society for the Protection of Beattie.
Would Conservative Tina Beattie Laywoman contact this blog where she/he may hear something to his/her advantage.
This morning the Petition entry Number 2147 read "Layman" and was later changed to "Laywoman".
We have reason to believe we are dealing with a shape-shifter. The public is warned not to approach this person but to contact the office immediately. Thank you.
The Petition for Removal of the Entry is available at
www.freetinabeattie.co.uk
A reward for the identification of other false entries is being offered by an anonymous donor.
A word on the 'bad news' here.
ReplyDeleteI have re-read the article & simply cannot find enough facts to go on to make a judgment on the wisdom or otherwise of the Vatican's decision. For a start, the reasons for it have not been disclosed. Second, no account is provided as to why 'incomprehension' was 'expressed' by CI.
If the matter is important then care should be taken over drawing inferences from the news stories.
@Mr Rubio
ReplyDeleteThank you for this, Mr. Rubio. I referred to a lack of trust, transparency and respect. You say that we should withhold judgement because we don't have enough facts, but isn't that my point? If the Vatican decides to block the reappointment of a highly respected senior employee in the Church's official international development agency, does it not have a responsibility to disclose why and, if it fails to do so, does that not constitute a lack of transparency and respect for the people involved which in turn produces mistrust?
I don't know how familiar you are with the work of Catholic NGOs, but the incomprehension is genuine and how could it be otherwise, if no reason for the decision has been disclosed?
Catholic organisations already struggle against hostile secular perceptions in the NGO world because of the Holy See's stance on women's reproductive health and its obstructive role in the UN when it comes to women's rights, not to mention its anachronistic all-male authority structure. The fact that this action has been taken against one of the few women to hold a senior position in the Catholic world only adds to the scandal.
Really, this is more Gormenghast than Holy Mother Church.
Best wishes,
Tina.
To RSPB. www.freetinabeattie.co.uk
ReplyDeleteLook at the Comment about online petitions on "Links to This Post".
Don't waste Society funds on the extraction of the entry. Virtually impossible without the cooperation of 'Team Members'. Tina has made it clear she is not that person. This is sufficient.
However, if we are dealing with a Tory Traditionalist doppelganger, a non-human entity with evil intent, could we approach Anthony Hopkins CBE, famous Welsh exorcist?
Online petitions are not admissible in any Parliament or Congress in the world. Politicians have them set to Spam. Petitions must be ink on paper, then certified according to the laws of your state, province or country. Online petitions are big business: they are email harvesting software. The people who can make decisions will never see your signature.
ReplyDeleteI do hope this is not true.
ReplyDeleteTina: I find it interesting that you say that the failure to reappoint someone highly regarded should carry with it " a responsibility to disclose why and, if it fails to do so, does that not constitute a lack of transparency and respect for the people involved which in turn produces mistrust? " The Westminster Diocese Education Service failed to reappoint 6 highly regarded foundation governors from Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School without offering any reasons or explanations. See our website for details: sites.google.com/site/vaughanparentsactiongroup/
ReplyDeleteLoyal Catholic parents are bewildered by the actions of the Westminster Diocese Education Service ; they feel bullied and ignored. As you say Tina: "authoritarian regimes seek to retain power by silencing and bullying their most loyal critics. "