BENEDICT XVI: NEWS, PAPAL TEXTS, PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY

Under-fire Irish Cardinal
to join Pope on visit to Britain
By Martin Beckford
Religious Affairs Correspondent

August 31, 2010

The senior Irish cleric facing calls to resign over cover-ups in the Catholic Church has vowed to join the Pope’s forthcoming visit to Britain.

[These 'calls to resign' have abated since their high point last March, shortly after the publiction of the Pope's Letter to Irish Catholics. That the Telegraph should revive it at this time so close to the Pope's visit is bad faith, especially considering that two weeks ago, it published an editorial to welcome the Pope and disapprove of all the hits below the belt from the Pope's enemies.]

Cardinal Seán Brady has faced widespread criticism over his handling of a clergy child abuse scandal [The 'scandal' in short: In the early 1970s, as a young priest, Brady interrogated two victims on behalf of his bishop and then had then sign what was then a customary statement that they would not discuss the case in public; the bishop dismissed the accused priest, a Norbertine, from his diocesan duties] and for his refusal to apologise after a priest was allowed to evade questioning over an IRA bombing. [This is a case I am reading about for the first time, so will verify. P.S. Sorry, it turns out it is the case referred to below and about which I posted an item in the CHURCH&VATICAN THREAD yesterday, except Beckford's summary of it in the preceding sentence seems so totally unrelated, ewxcept for the IRA part!]

But he defiantly told an Irish newspaper that he would not be stepping down and that he hoped to attend many of the engagements during Benedict XVI’s historic state visit to Scotland and England in three weeks’ time.

“I plan to accompany Pope Benedict in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and Birmingham,” said Cardinal Brady, the head of the church in Ireland. [What is defiant about that? He is the Primate of Ireland - his absence would be egregious and uncalled for!... Now watch how Beckford tailors the story to place Brady in the worst light - by simply making general statements which are half-true without giving the known attenuating circumstances.]

His presence at public events in Britain will likely lead to increase turnout at protests, as the country’s Roman Catholic church has so far escaped much of the criticism leveled at Ireland.

Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society which is leading opposition to the Pontiff’s visit, said: “This graphically illustrates the innate arrogance of so many in the Catholic hierarchy.

“If the Pope permits Cardinal Brady to accompany him on his travels through the United Kingdom he will be giving tacit approval to the Cardinal’s disgraceful behaviour.

“How can we be convinced that Pope Benedict means what he says about clearing up the child abuse scandal when he permits someone with Cardinal Brady’s past to continue in office?”

It emerged earlier this year that Cardinal Brady, 71, was personally involved in the cover-up of clergy child abuse many years ago.

As a priest in County Cavan in 1975, he had been present at meetings where young victims [TWO VICTIMS] signed vows of silence [STATEMENTS NOT VOWS] over complaints against a notorious paedophile monk, Fr Brendan Smyth. [He was not 'notorious' when Brady investigated the complaints against him - they were the first to be filed against him.]

The Church claimed the boys were told to sign oaths “to avoid potential collusion” in an internal inquiry, but Cardinal Brady did not tell police about the crimes [He was not required to at the time, and if anybpdy needed to report it then, it would have been his bishop, not him] and Fr Smyth went on to abuse more children.[After he had left the diocese, from which he was immediately sent back to his order after investigaiton of the complaints.]

In his St Patrick’s Day Mass, Cardinal Brady apologised to those he had let down and added: "Looking back I am ashamed that I have not always upheld the values that I profess and believe in."

But although abuse survivors and politicians called on Cardinal Brady to resign, he did not.

He was rumoured to have tendered his resignation in Rome before Easter but insisted to the Irish Independent: "This is not true about my resigning. I am not resigning."

Cardinal Brady faced more criticism last week after a report by the police ombudsman found that the Church hierarchy and the British government had colluded and allowed a priest suspected of involvement in the Claudy bombing, which killed nine people, to travel across the border from Northern Ireland to another parish rather than face justice. [I posted a story about this in the CHURCH&VATICAN thread last night. The bombing took place in 1972, and the priest was from a diocese Brady never served in. Brady was definitely not part of any 'hierarchy' in 1972! He had absolutely no involvement, direct or indirect, with the 1972 case.]

The Cardinal issued a statement agreeing that Fr James Chesney’s terrorist activity was “shocking” but insisted there had been no cover-up. [Chesney's bishop at the time issued a statement of 'constructive skepticism' about statements turned up at this time, saying "Fr. Chesney was never arrested, questioned, charged or convicted. He cannot answer for himself. He has been dead 30 years."... Isn't it disgusting how media can so easily manipulate public opinion by leaving out relevant facts about any story they are using to push their agenda???]

Meanwhile the former head of the Roman Catholic Church in Belgium is under fire after it emerged that he met an abuse victim in April this year and urged him to keep his ordeal secret until the abuser retired.

Cardinal Godfried Danneels was taped telling the victim, now 42, "actually it would be better for you to wait" before going public as his abuser, Bishop Roger Vangheluwe of Bruges, was due to step down.

{The Danneels story is something else, and I have not posted anything about it so far because the reports are rather muddled - the explanation offered by Danneels's spokesman was more confused than the accusation against him, which is confused enough... But Danneels is Belgian and has nothing to do with the Pope's visit to the UK! And by the way, where are all the liberals who sued to root for Danneels so loudly in his libral defiance of both John Paul II and Benedict XVI????]


The official site is late coming out with its weekly audio update on the visit, but it did post videos from some bishops...


Stories of faith from
some English bishops



Ahead of the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom, nine Catholic bishops have recorded personal stories about their relationship with God to help people understand the theme of the Papal Visit.

On 16 September Pope Benedict will arrive in the UK on the first ever state visit of a Pope to these lands. During his stay he will address people across the nation from all walks of life and meet with Her Majesty The Queen,

Government officials, other Christian and religious leaders, as well as members of the Catholic community. The theme of his Visit is ‘Heart speaks unto heart’ which was the motto of the soon-to-be beatified Cardinal John Henry Newman.

The bishops share a variety of experiences including a moment when faith was tested during a visit to the Holy Land, the impact of a mother’s death and what it felt like during a period of "all-time low" - articulating in detail feelings of anger and resentment. The nine recordings offer powerful, honest and faith-filled stories of faith.

Most Rev Patrick Kelly, Archbishop of Liverpool

Archbishop Kelly shared an experience he had during a visit to the Holy Land: "For me it was a time when my convictions about that central fact on which my whole way of life as a disciple of Jesus is based were put to the test."

Right Rev John Arnold, Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster

Sharing what he felt being with his mother as she died: "God was present when he invited her to himself and he left me with that reassurance that she’s always listening and that she’s always someone that I can speak to and that we are held in His hands."

Rt Rev Kieran Conry, Bishop of Arundel and Brighton
Chair of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference Department
for Evangelisation and Catechesis

Remembering a visit to the catacombs in Rome: "We went down under the ground. Walked through the tunnels... then we had Mass and as we stood there in this tiny little chapel with the graves of some of the early popes around us... we came to the words in the Mass where we remember all those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith and a number of people were moved to tears when they looked around and thought: 'There are thousands of those people here now.' ... It was a profoundly moving experience... it reminded me that I’m part of a great big long story."

Rt Rev Seamus Cunningham, Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle

The Bishop recalls being appointed as Spiritual Director to the seminary: "I must say that this came to me as a great shock and surprise and I felt completely inadequate and I felt very low, very down in myself. I remember going back to Ireland and my mother said to me... 'It’s a great honour.' My reply was, 'It’s an honour I could do without.'"

Rt Rev Edwin Regan, Bishop of Wrexham

The natural world spoke powerfully to him: "I was 15 years of age and working as a paper boy before going to school and I was at a period in my life when I was wondering, 'Is there a God or not, is what the grown-ups told me, is it absolutely true?' or those kind of questions... I was on the paper round and it was a beautiful morning and I just stood at the end of the street and looked up at the sky, it was just full of stars..."

The link to the videos:
www.thepapalvisit.org.uk/2010-Visit/Cor-ad-Cor-Loquitur-Heart-Speaks-unto-Heart/Bishop...


Why do I find the following headline menacing? While we must appreciate that the BBC is obviously choosing to treat the papal visit with the attention its significance deserves, shoudl we not be wary that blanket coverage of teh events also means blanket opportunity for their commentators to diss the Pope and the Church???

BBC sets out plan
for blanket coverage
of the Pope's visit
by Tara Conlan

Tuesday 31 August 2010

The BBC today unveiled more details of its extensive plans for coverage of the forthcoming UK visit by Pope Benedict XVI, with more than 10 hours of live broadcasting on BBC1 and BBC2.

In addition to about 12-and-a-half hours of live programming on the two main TV channels, Radio 4, Radio 5 Live and other BBC TV, radio and online services will be contributing to the coverage.

Huw Edwards will be the main television anchor for the Pope's arrival, broadcast live on BBC1 from Edinburgh on Thursday, 16 September, when the Pope will also meet the Queen.

Edwards will give commentary on the Westminster Abbey service the following day on BBC2, which will also be on Radio 4 Longwave, covered by Ed Stourton.

On Saturday 18 September, Edwards will present coverage of a Mass at Westminster Cathedral, where he will be joined by Monsignor Mark Langham.

Sunday coverage will include the beatification mass of Cardinal John Henry Newman at Cofton Park in Birmingham, which will air on BBC2. The programme will be fronted by Edwards, joined by Stourton and Langham.

On the same day, Radio 4's Sunday Programme and a special edition of Sunday Worship will also be broadcast live before the main ceremony.

In addition to the blanket live coverage during the papal visit, there will be "some current affairs programming looking at the different aspects of the Catholic Church".

There are also a wide range of papal-themed documentaries. BBC2 is airing two documentaries, Benedict: Trials of a Pope and Newman: Saint or Sinner? fronted by Ann Widdecombe, plus highlights of the trip in The Pope's Visit.

BBC 4 is screening Vatican – The Hidden World of God's Servantsand Radio 4 is airing The Pope's British Divisions, which will feature Mark Dowd examining the impact of the sex abuse crisis in Britain's Catholic community, plus highlights of the beatification of Cardinal Newman.

Radio 2 will air a special hour-long edition of Sunday Half Hour from a vigil in Hyde Park, while Radio 5 Live will have "extensive" coverage led by Shelagh Fogarty and including live broadcasts of the Pope's arrival in Edinburgh on 16 September and of his first mass the same day during 5 Live Drive.

The following day Fogarty will present 5 Live Breakfast from Twickenham, where Pope Benedict will be staying, with "live coverage of his official engagements throughout the day", plus broadcast of the final mass of the visit.

The BBC said it "will also be covering other events during the papal visit on the BBC News Channel".

Aaqil Ahmed, BBC commissioning editor for television and head of religion and ethics, said: "This is the first papal visit to Britain for 28 years and the first ever state visit and is of great significance not only to the millions of Catholics in this country but to the countless others who will be watching in the UK and around the globe. I am delighted that the BBC is bringing together a team of presenters and specialists who can provide insight into such an historic occasion."

It is understood that the BBC's director general, Mark Thompson, has been invited to some of the events but it is not yet clear if he is attending as a BBC spokesman said that his "plans haven't been finalised yet".

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 01/09/2010 13:05]