(I don't normally share anything from The Tablet, since it is the National Catholic Fishwrap of Britain, but this is important.)
First from last year,
From the Catholic Herald
Cardinal Nichols consecrates England and Wales to the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Thousands attended the consecration in Westminster Cathedral
Cardinal Vincent Nichols has crowned a statue of Our Lady of Fátima in the centenary year of her appearance, and re-consecrated England and Wales to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
At a packed Westminster Cathedral, filled to its 3,000 capacity and with large crowds spilling into the plaza, Cardinal Nichols led the prayer of consecration, which includes the sentence: “To you and your Immaculate Heart, in this centenary year of the apparitions of Fátima, we re-consecrate ourselves in union not only with the Church, the Mystical Body of your Son, but also with the entire world.”
The cardinal was renewing a consecration made by his predecessor as Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Bernard Griffin, in 1948.
In May 1917, the Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children in Fátima, Portugal. She told them of a coming upheaval in the world, linked especially to Russia, which would cause terrible suffering. She also reminded the children of the danger of hell, and asked them to pray the rosary and make sacrifices for sinners.
She explained that there would be a great event on October 13. That day, vast crowds gathered, and the “Miracle of the Sun” took place, at which many onlookers saw the sun dance.
Catholics are not obliged to believe in the Fátima revelations, but the Church has officially declared them “worthy of belief”, and Our Lady of Fátima has a central place in Marian devotion.
In his homily, Cardinal Nichols said the apparitions presented a “considerable challenge”, and that Catholics must ask themselves: “How well do we express our discipleship of Christ every day? How are we getting on in those two ways of giving time to the Lord and to others: in those areas of prayer and sacrifice?”
The cardinal recommended the rosary as a prayer to help one to say “yes” to God, which was, he said the essence of devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
The statue will now tour 20 cathedrals of England and Wales, ending in the Diocese of Wrexham in October.
And, now from this year,
From The Tablet
Nichols backs hospital staff in Alfie Evans case
Cardinal Vincent Nichols has said he believes everything possible was done to help Alfie Evans
Cardinal Vincent Nichols has said he believes everything possible was done to help Alfie Evans, the 23-month-old boy who died last weekend from an undiagnosed and incurable degenerative neurological condition.
The cardinal criticised people who "sought political capital" from the tragedy "without knowing the facts".
During a visit to Poland on Sunday, the cardinal said: "It's important to remember Alder Hey Hospital cared for Alfie not for two weeks or two months, but for 18 months, consulting with the world's top specialists – so its doctors' position that no further medical help could be given was very important. The Church says very clearly we do not have a moral obligation to continue a severe therapy when it's having no effect, while the Church's Catechism also teaches that palliative care, which isn't a denial of help, can be an act of mercy. Rational action, spared of emotion, can be an expression of love; and I'm sure Alfie received this kind of care."
The Cardinal was speaking after arriving in Gniezno as a Papal legate for the sixth centenary of Poland's primatial see. He told the Polish Church's Catholic information agency, KAI, on Sunday that most of the doctors and nurses caring for Alfie Evans were Catholics, who had been "deeply hurt" by accusations levelled against them, and said he was pleased the child's parents had finally reached "agreement and harmony" with Liverpool's Alder Hey Hospital.
"It's very hard to act in a child's best interest when this isn't always as the parents would wish – and this is why a court must decide what's best not for the parents, but for the child,æ Cardinal Nichols told KAI. "Wisdom enables us to make decisions based on full information, and many people have taken a stand on Alfie's case in recent weeks who didn't have such information and didn't serve the good of this child. Unfortunately, there were also some who used the situation for political aims."
Extensive Polish media coverage of the case of Alfie Evans, who died early last Saturday, five days after having his life-support treatment withdrawn, provoked protests outside the British Embassy in Warsaw and mass petitions, signed by 245,000, to the Queen and Alder Hey. Polish Church leaders staged special Masses in support of the child, while a Catholic lawyers' group, Ordo Iuris, demanded enquiry by the United Nations Human Rights Commission.
In his KAI interview, Cardinal Nichols said he detected a "great yearning" in Poland to "propagate and reveal the Christian identity", but added that the situation was different in Britain. "Our task here is to find ways of reaching out to society, so the Church's voice can be heard in a multi-faith setting, where many people do not adhere to any faith," said the Cardinal, who preached to Poland's Catholic bishops at Sunday's main cathedral Mass. "When we discuss the Church's doctrine here, we must often construct a dialogue on arguments about society's common good."
Pic: Cardinal Nichols in Poland for the jubilee of the 600th anniversary of the institution of Primate of Poland. Pic shows him (centre) at vespers © Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk
Hear hear!
ReplyDeleteAll was not done for that child, and it is an appalling day when we realize our own clergymen would not do whatever it took to save that baby. We can look away at a lot of things, but God help us if we do that now that we know about Alfie Evans and the way Tom Evans was tortured. They even removed the spiritual comfort provided to Alfie and his poor parents.
Do these men realize at all, they are hardening hearts against them. It does not even matter what they may say now, although I have heard no repentance regarding Alfie, but even if they did, there are no words to bring back that murdered child, murdered by an evil regime.
There are times in which words come hard, this is that time. In the face of such calamity, when babies are callously killed by the state, and men "of the church" condone it or tolerate it, what can be said. That is a shocking and bad day.
Any one of these men, including the pope, could have, and should have, stood outside the hospital and demanded the child and parents be allowed to go with them to Italy. When a child's life was obviously in peril, this is what they should have done, nothing short of that was acceptable. Where have the MEN gone!