Scout's Honour

A relatively new arrival on the Catholic comment scene, Scout has been putting himself or herself around a bit, with comments on many blogs, great and small. There seems to be a slight disjunct between the Scout of the comments box, who presents as a fairly reasonable and polite commenter, and the Scout of the blog, who, err... does not.

Wading into any strongly stated Catholic views (let alone those from the nutty fringes) Scout is not above hyperbole and Sun-style headlines him- (or her-) self.

However, despite all these efforts, Scout’s site does not attract the volume of traffic he or she doubtless wants, so I though I’d run a trailer here, as I’m sure my readers will appreciate Scout’s particular style and approach.

In the interests of absolute transparency (that’s my value, not Scout’s) I should point out that all that follows is written by me: the style alone is borrowed from Scout.

Hardline Catholic Bishop Hits Children: Parents Look On with Approval!

Yesterday at the ultra-Catholic St James’s Spanish Place, the Uber-traditionalist Latin Mass Society organised Confirmation according to the now-discredited old-fashioned liturgy.

That involved the children being confirmed being physically held down by their sponsors, while the hardline bishop hit each in turn on the cheek!

Given that physical punishment is now outlawed in our schools, that some imams and madrassas are being investigated for using physical punishment, it is extraordinary that the Catholic extremists still think they can get away with this! Do they not know that the world has moved on, and it is no longer acceptable to slap children?

We would encourage the children to bring an action of assault against the hardline bishop, John Sherrington, against their so-called sponsors who were materially co-operating with the abuse, and against their parents who were sat supine in the pews, watching with approval as this barbaric ritual progressed.

For more in this illuminating, expressive and insight-filled style, do rush over to Scout's place, which is dedicated to exposing Catholic lunacy, prejudice and hypocrisy on the web. You'll even find a tag with my name...

Dominique's confirmation

The confirmation yesterday went very well. Unfortunately Bishop Hopes was ill, but we were blessed that newly consecrated Bishop Sherrington agreed to step in at the last minute.

Ant and Bernie had both escaped from their respective Universities for the day, and we had travelled down to London early that morning (up at 5.00...) and had walked to St James' via various pleasant London Squares and Oxford Street, as the girls had some shopping to do...

A countercultural aunt joined us for the confirmation, and the reception and lunch afterwards.

The confirmation itself was accompanied by some lovely music, and followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, with Frs Southwell and Finigan (who has some pictures on his blog) joining the bishop.

As last time, I was disappointed in the demeanour and behaviour of some of the congregation. Many chatted vivaciously in the Church before the ceremonies began, even while others were on their knees praying; many entered and left pews, and crossed the central aisle, with no genuflection to the Blessed Sacrament. Some stood all the way through Benediction. And immediately afterwards, many were chatting vivaciously again in the Church - despite the fact that we had the hall available for our reception and socialising. One expects a degree of reverence at LMS organised events; whilst there were many behaving appropriately, it was disappointing and distracting that so many were not.

After a pizza, we spent a pleasant few hours wandering round London seeing the sights: St James' Palace, Buckingham Palace, the park, Trafalgar Square, and then a half hour or so in the National Gallery, before heading back to the station. By the time we were on the train we were all pretty tired, so the trip home was somewhat quieter than the trip down.

But a great day, particularly with the reception of a sacrament by Dominique; and that's our last confirmation till the grandchildren start to arrive...

New Director of Catholic Education

The Catholic Herald reports that Oona Stannard has resigned from her role as Director of the Catholic Education Service of England and Wales (CESEW), for personal reasons.

I hope that she has not got health problems, and wish her well; but I cannot pretend that I am sorry to see her go. The CESEW has signally failed to fulfil its mission to promote Catholic education. Instead it has overseen schools that are scarcely worthy of the label Catholic, and negotiations that were more capitulations vis-a-vis an anti-Catholic political class. To add insult to injury, we were then told these negotiations had ben successful.

Let us hope and pray that Fr Marcus Stock, who is taking over on a temporary basis, has the desire, wisdom and courage to put CESEW back on track. I understand that that is likely to be the case...

A Big Day...

Tomorrow is a big day: we're off to London for Dominique's Confirmation (Bishop Alan Hopes, St James's Spanish Place, traditional rite).

It doesn't seem two years since Charlie's confirmation, though on reflection a lot has changed. We now have two daughters joining us from their respective universities for the day, for example.

But some things never change: the booklet produced by the LMS (at least the one sent in advance) is as makeshift as ever: I rather hope they'll pull something rather more worthy out of the bag tomorrow.

And of course the important stuff doesn't change. The rite itself will be almost identical, kicking off with the Veni Creator Spiritus, the initial prayers, the Confirmation itself (complete with the blow to the cheek) the Veni Sancte Spiritus, and so on. Different bishop, and different sermon, I dare say, but the rest will be the same as it was for Charlie, Bernie, Ant, my parents, and generations who preceded them...

Remember all those being confirmed in your prayers, and also Bishop Hopes, to whom we are all most grateful.

Another statement of belief from Bonus Pastor

From their current newsletter

Reflection

We believe that Jesus died and rose again, so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have died believing in him.

Ref: 1 Thessalonians 4.14

Well, kudos, I suppose for saying something about belief that relates to Christianity, and referring to the Bible.

Except, (or is it me?), this seems to promote a Sola fide (ie Lutheran) interpretation...

Save us from a Catholic Ethos...

Why is it that when I hear the words 'a Catholic Ethos,' in relation to a school, I shudder?

It seems to me that they are weasel words. They are trying to do two things at once. On the one hand, they are trying to suggest to devout Catholic parents that the school is a Catholic School. On the other, they are trying to suggest to parents who are not so keen on the Catholic Faith that religion won't be shoved down their children's throats.

It seems to me that they indicate a retreat from the mission of a Catholic School, which by definition must be to educate their pupils to be saints: to teach them the Faith, in ways which accord with the Faith, and to educate them more broadly to discover and fulfil their vocations.

If that is the primary purpose of a Catholic School, which I take to be axiomatic, then it is hard to see why showing children videos which are occasions of sin, examples of immorality and contain obscene and blasphemous language can be considered 'appropriate' (or as an unreconstructed traditionally minded Catholic like me would say, right). See my previous post for the details.

So consider a school which not only shows such videos, but defends the practice and then tries scare tactics ("For security reasons we advise you not to access the website as we believe that it could compromise your account") to stop parents finding out what is going on. Reflect on that remarkable sentence for a second. It is the only place on the front page of their www site where they believe anything - and it is patently rubbish (and I suspect that they know that: the phrase 'terminological inexactitude' springs to mind). Yet they profess to believe it, while they express no Catholic belief at all: but, of course, the school has a "strong Catholic ethos."

QED.

Trouble in Lewisham

I wasn't quite sure what to make of the goings-on at Bonus Pastor as reported by James Preece. Clearly the videos featured on the linked www site were inappropriate for Catholic RE, but I always wonder who is behind these protests and how nutty they are...?

Then I discovered that at least one of those involved is Greg Clovis. Moreover that he had been accused of assault.

Now, I have met Greg (many years ago at Walsingham), and know of his work and reputation. Far from being a nutter, he is a brave, intelligent and committed Catholic and a stalwart of the pro-life movement in this country. Any suggestion that he assaulted anyone strikes me as implausible in the extreme - and that is what the police have decided too.

So have a look at the protest www site, and then, if you believe that the videos are inappropriate for a Catholic school, leave a word of support there, and drop the school and the diocese a note (all the details are on the www site).