Issue 32 - The Pilgrim - October 2014 - The newspaper of the Archdiocese of Southwark

Issue 32 October 2014
Thinking
about
Halloween
Pages 2
Social justice
in action
Art is my
vocation
Page 8 Page 10
Responding to crisis
for Iraq’s Christians
by John Newton and
John Pontifex
PARISHES from across the
archdiocese of Southwark have
responded generously to urgent
appeals on behalf of Christians in
the Middle East forced to flee
Islamic State (IS) forces.
Church leaders in Iraq and
elsewhere have mounted a massive
relief operation for hundreds of
thousands of people who fled their
towns and villages, leaving
everything behind.
In the ancient Iraqi city of Mosul
and the surrounding Nineveh
plains, where Christian
communities have lived since
Biblical times, people were told to
abandon their faith.
They were told that if they
refused “there is nothing for them
but the sword”.
Working with Chaldean Catholic
Patriarch Louis Raphael I Sako of
Baghdad, Catholic charity Aid to
the Church in Need (ACN) has so far
provided £160,000 for food,
shelter, medicine and other basic
essentials.
The help from ACN, whose UK
national office is in Sutton, has
been made possible thanks to its
many generous benefactors,
including those in south London and
Kent.
ACN’s help for Iraq’s Christians is
running alongside ongoing projects
to provide the essentials for many
of the 500,000 Syrian Christians
who fled their homes because of
the conflict or targeted attacks by
Islamist extremists.
Fr Julian Shurgold, parish priest
of Holy Family Church, Sutton
Green – which raised more than
£2,500 for Christians in the Middle
East – explained how parishioners’
generous response was based on
first-hand experience of having a
Coptic Catholic refugee family in
the parish.
The family was deported after a
legal battle to stay in the UK, but
gave parishioners empathy for the
situation in the Middle East.
Fr Shurgold said, “The parish is
aware that there is a deep
Iraqi Christians sit in the shadow of Our Lady after being forced
to flee their homes by IS fighters
suffering and persecution of
Christians in aggressive Islamist
societies, and we do all we can –
however the money is spent in
terms of relief or Christian
education or whatever it happens
to be – to try and do our utmost to
support our brothers and sisters in
Christ who are enduring suffering.”
Speaking at a UN conference in
Geneva earlier this autumn,
Patriarch Sako said: “At present
about 120,000 Christians are living
in Iraq as refugees. They need
everything because the IS terrorists
have taken all they had.
“The winter, which can be
very cold in Iraqi Kurdistan, is
coming and the people can’t
possibly stay in tents.”
To find out more or donate to
ACN’s emergency aid in the
Middle East please visit
www.acnuk.org
Right, Chaldean Catholic
Patriarch Louis Raphael I
Sako of Baghdad pictured
while addressing the EU

Editorial The Pilgrim October 2014
Judge us by how we treat the poor
Phil Kerton of St Francis
de Sales, Hartley, asks
how evangelisation and
social justice fit together.
The Kent diocesan area Justice and
Peace Group’s notepaper has the
sub-heading, “Our concern: Prayer,
Peace, Prisoners, Persecution,
Poverty, Pollution”. Just what has
this to do with evangelisation?
Old Testament prophets
repeatedly reminded the rulers of
Israel that they and their society
would be judged by how those on
the margins of society were
treated: the widows, orphans and
strangers.
St Luke, in chapter 4 of his
Gospel, describes Christ’s first
public announcement in his
ministry. He speaks in the
synagogue at Nazareth, quoting
Isaiah. “The Spirit of the Lord is on
me, because he has anointed me to
proclaim good news to the poor. He
has sent me to proclaim freedom
for the prisoners and recovery of
sight for the blind, to set the
oppressed free, to proclaim the
year of the Lord’s favour.”
Many regard this as his agenda or
manifesto for his earthly ministry.
The first exhortation of Pope
Francis can be seen in the same
light. By my count, some of the
words that he uses most frequently
are:
Poor/poverty/inequality: 81
references
Exclusion/ excluded / marginalised
/ outcast / fringes: 23
Peace/reconciliation: 50
Common good/dignity/solidarity: 48
Justice/ just/ injustice/ unjust: 30
The above words first crop up
most frequently in the early section
entitled “Some challenges of
today’s world”, and again in the
section “Communal and societal
repercussions of the
kerygma”,which immediately begs
the question, “What does he mean
by kerygma?”
It is a Greek word used in New
Testament studies to describe the
teaching or proclamation of the
Gospel – precisely as in the
synagogue at Nazareth, which is
cited as a prime example of
kerygma.
It implies a proclamation that
converts immediately, as reported
in the Acts of the Apostles – no
need for catechesis in an RCIA
Course; that’s later, it seems!
People were attracted to the
early Christians not only by their
preaching, but by their lifestyle,
commenting “See how they love
one another.” The love that they
practised drew the attention of the
world, just as Jesus said it would.
Pope Francis states, “Since the
task of evangelisation implies and
demands the integral promotion of
each human being, it is no longer
possible to claim that religion
should be restricted to the private
sphere and that it exists only to
prepare souls for heaven.”
An authentic faith – which is
never comfortable or completely
personal – always involves a deep
desire to change the world, to
transmit values, to leave this Earth
somehow better that we found it.
The Pope commends the study
and use of the Compendium of the
Social Doctrine of the Church,
focusing on two topics in Evangelii
Gaudium: (a) the inclusion of the
poor in society and (b) peace and
social dialogue.
Concern for social justice
requires us, like Pope Francis, to
read the “signs of the times”,
looking at the current state of the
Church and the world to which her
teaching now has to be applied.
We might, for example, note the
rise in demand for food banks and
realise that this appears to affront
to the dignity of the people who
they serve. We should go on to
consider its possible causes.
Are the clients feckless and lazy?
If so, we should urge that measures
are taken to encourage them to
mend their ways and to ensure that
future generations have a better
outlook upon their roles in society.
Or we may deduce that bad
administration of changes in the
welfare system is having adverse
effects. In this case we might lobby
for improvements and make sure
that real stories reach the ears of
politicians.
Or, again, we may decide that
our society has elected a class of
politicians who are making
scapegoats of the very people who
the prophets told us to take care
of. The social teaching of the
Church does not tell us which cause
is correct or what remedies to
pursue. It does, however, ask us to
care about the poor and to act in
solidarity with them to improve
their lot – and to be seen to do so.
Ghoulies and ghosties
The Archdiocese of Southwark
Archbishop Peter Smith
020 7928-2495
archbishop@rcsouthwark.co.uk
www.rcsouthwark.co.uk
Area bishops
Episcopal vicar for Kent
Father Paul Mason
01732 845486
episcopalvicarkent@gmail.com
South-West London
Bishop Paul Hendricks
020 8643 8007
bishop.hendricks@gmail.com
South-East London
Bishop Patrick Lynch
020 8297 9219
bishoplynch7@btinternet.com
The Pilgrim,
Archbishop’s House
150 St George’s Road
London SE1 6HX
Editor: Greg Watts
pilgrim@rcsouthwark.co.uk
0208 776 9250
Advertising: Carol Malpass
0161 214 1244
carol.malpass@thecatholicuniverse.com
Distribution: Andrea Black
0161 214 1216
andrea.black@totalcatholic.net
Print management, design and
distribution by The Universe Media
Group Ltd
by Bishop Paul Hendricks
“From ghoulies and ghosties and longleggedy
beasties and things that go
bump in the night, Good Lord deliver
us.”
The old Scottish prayer comes to
mind at this time of year, when we
can already see Halloween-related
items in the shops.
Though the commercialism of
Halloween is rather tacky and trivial, I
find myself wondering whether there
is something deeper behind the
persistent appeal of stories about
ghosts, vampires, werewolves and
other such products of the darker side
of our imagination.
Admittedly there are some very
superficial horror films that are purely
designed to shock. Others give an
amusing sideways look at traditional
themes. I’ve never got around to
watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
but I like the idea that it turns on its
head the traditional image of the girl
who disappears into an alleyway and
gets killed, or at best stands by
screaming while the man does the
fighting.
Here the girl is the one who takes
charge and fights back. But on a
deeper level, I sure there must be a
reason why stories of ghosts, the
undead and such-like have been so
persistently popular, especially if you
include the folk-tales that were
around long before novels, films or
television.
Let’s see if we can identify any patterns in
such stories. I think they all present the idea
that behind the world of our everyday life,
there is a sort of hidden parallel world
where the dead come back to haunt us and
there are beings that are neither truly dead
nor alive.
The world we know is seen as only a sort
of mask, hiding an underlying reality that is
made up of these various horrors. I wonder
whether this is a sort of “dark reflection” of
religion — equal and opposite to our view
that, in addition to the world we see, there
is the unseen reality of God, the saints in
Heaven and the angels.
Ghoulish dream: Buffy fights off
a demon in the TV programme
Perhaps this dark side is something
our imagination has to invent, even
though it doesn’t actually exist. (The
question of the Devil’s existence is a
rather different matter, which would
take too long to explore here).
Another theme that comes across to
me is the precariousness of life, which
these stories magnify and dramatise. In
real life we are vulnerable to accidents
and illnesses, which can bring our life to
an end suddenly and unexpectedly.
In horror stories, a bite from a
werewolf or a vampire can not only kill
you but condemn you to an eternal fate.
As Christians, we know that our future
beyond this life cannot be affected by
such accidental events.
Our future is in our own hands, in
terms of the life-choices we make. And
yet that very freedom gives us the
possibility (though we don’t like to think
about it) of ultimately turning away
from God and from all that is good. I say
to myself that I would never do that —
but how sure can I be?
Finally, I notice that modern horror
stories were becoming popular about
the same time as the idea of the
unconscious was developing. Is there a
hint that the real me may not be what I
thought it was?
Perhaps this deeply unsettling thought
accounts for the psychological sub-texts
of various sorts that run through some
of the films and books in this genre. In
reality, Halloween is just a bit of fun, not to
be taken too seriously.
But maybe there is a reason why “ghoulies
and ghosties” continue to haunt our
imagination, for religious people and nonbelievers
alike.
Page 2

The Pilgrim October 2014
Archbishop
helps mark
golden day
Archbishop Peter joined parishioners
in Beckenham Hill and Bellingham to
mark the 50th anniversary of the
dedication of the Church of The
Annunciation and St Augustine.
Two parishioners, Dennis Simmonds
and Joseph Sullivan, were presented
with diocesan medals for their
exceptional service to the church and
deputy head teacher of St Augustine’s
Primary School received a leaving
present.
Southwark pilgrims in Lourdes
during the annual pilgrimage,
led by Archbishop Peter.
News
Clarification
The introduction to the article by
John Quinn in last month’s edition of
The Pilgrim should have said he is a
youth minister in Sacred Heart parish,
Wimbledon, not the Merton
deanery.
New document
examines impact
of Catholic
education
Orpington
milestone
The Orpington section of the Catholic
Women’s League has celebrated its 60th
anniversary. Members were joined by
representatives from five neighbouring
parishes, along with Fr Barry Angus, a former
curate of Holy Innocents’ parish which has had
close links with the section over the years.
Brixton changes
The Missionary Society of St Paul of Nigeria has
been given the pastoral care of Our Lady of the
Rosary, Brixton.
The congregation has also been given permission
to establish a religious house in the parish.
To advertise in The Pilgrim
contact Carol Malpass.
Tel: 0161 214 1244 or email:
carol.malpass@thecatholicuniverse.com
The Catholic Education Service has
announced the launch of a new
document, celebrating the
important impact Catholic
education has in England and
Wales.
The document, which was
approved at the Bishops’
Conference plenary meeting in
May, outlines the distinctive nature
of Catholic education, which is
currently responsible for almost
800,000 pupils in England and
Wales.
It also explains the way in which
Catholic schools work in
partnership with the Government
to provide outstanding academic
standards, a diverse education and
a cohesive and welcoming
environment for all.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols,
Archbishop of Westminster, said: “I
welcome this document, which
highlights the distinctive nature of
Catholic education to make Christ
known, to assist parents in their
role as primary educators of their
children and to be of service to
society.
“The enormous demand for
places at Catholic schools is
testament to the very high regard
that parents have for the
distinctive nature of Catholic
schools and also the high standards
they achieve.”
The Catholic Church is
responsible for 10 per cent of the
total maintained education sector
throughout England and Wales.
It employs over 48,000 teachers
and 38,000 education support
staff.
Mass hears praise for caring
role of seafarers’ charity
Apostleship of the Sea chaplains and supporters gathered for a
Mass at St George’s Cathedral to celebrate World Maritime
Day.
In his homily, Bishop Tom Burns praised Apostleship of the
Sea for its charity and compassion. “Apostleship of the Sea
chaplains and volunteers bring the face of Christ to hopeless
situations,” he said.
He spoke about how the chaplain at the port of Tilbury had
brought comfort to the crew after a container it had carried
was discovered to be carrying Afghan migrants, one of whom
died.
Page 3

News The Pilgrim October 2014
Expert’s praise
for Pugin
Paul Atterbury, one of the leading experts on the
BBC’s Antiques Roadshow, has spoken about the
importance in English architecture.
In a lecture held in the
Pugin-designed church of St
Augustine in Ramsgate, he
talked about his personal and
professional interest in Pugin,
the architect responsible for
the design of much of the
Houses of Parliament.
Paul Atterbury was at the
forefront of the resurgence of
interest in Pugin over the past
few decades.
He curated the groundbreaking exhibition at the
V&A Museum in 1994, as well as the celebrated followup
exhibition in New York.
The lecture, organised jointly by The Pugin Society
and the Friends of St Augustine, was part of Pugin
week, which also included music, displays, and tours.
Social
entrepreneur
Nathaniel Peat
told pupils at
St Matthew
Academy in
Blackheath
that hard
work is the
secret to
success.
Nathaniel is
the founder of
the non-profit
organisation
The Safety
Box, which
works in
schools to
tackle antisocial
behaviour and
help young
people to
grow in
confidence.
St Jude goes green
The National Shrine of Saint Jude in
Faversham is taking part in a green
pilgrimage to Canterbury Cathedral.
The pilgrimage is organised by The
Green Pilgrimage Network (GPN) of
the Anglican diocese of Canterbury.
It will depart from Faversham on the
morning of October 3.
Catherine Lloyd, GPN project
officer said “We are delighted to be
working with the National Shrine of
St Jude in Faversham, as one of the
many pilgrim places in Kent. The
shrine is a good example of a modern
sacred site, that has developed more
recently, and which we are keen to
promote alongside more historic
routes and pilgrim destinations.”
Fr Michael Manning, chaplain to
the shrine said, “This is all very
exciting.
“The National Shrine of Saint Jude
is very proud to be part of this Green
Pilgrimage Network.”
Anyone interested in joining the
pilgrimage should email
shrineoffice@stjudeshrine.org.uk or
phone 01795 539214.
Margate charity
founders’ papal
blessing honour
Three founders of a charity which supports Catholic
schools in west Africa have received a papal blessing
from Pope Francis.
Doreen and Ron Rolfe set up Ed-Aid in 1989 after
a holiday in Gambia when they discovered that
many schools lacked the most basic resources. Later
they were joined by Eileen Teahan, Doreen’s sister.
They each received a special scroll during a Mass
at Ss Austin & Gregory with St Anne, Margate. The
presentation was arranged by David Shaw, former
head of Holy Cross Secondary School, Broadstairs,
who took over the management of the charity last
year.
Since it was founded, Ed-Aid has raised money to
buy equipment, rebuild classrooms, build
accommodation for teachers, and train students.
Ed-Aid also collects new or nearly new
educational items from sewing needles and reams of
paper to spades and packets of chalk.
More information at www.edaid.freeserve.co.uk.
To advertise in this newspaper
contact Carol Malpass.
Tel: 0161 214 1244 or
email:
carol.malpass@thecatholicuniverse.com
Page 4
Walking plans
land pupils
prize t-shirts
Members of the school council
from St Joseph’s Catholic Primary
School in Broadstairs have
received Green Champion t-shirts
from their local authority.
The prizes were a reward
for their commitment to a
scheme that looked to encourage
pupils and families to use active
means to get to school rather
than travelling by car.
The pupil-led activities
included presentations and
leaflets to parents about the
‘Walk on Wednesday’ walking
bus and a ‘park and stride’
initiative.
The children gathered
evidence including photographs,
statistics and interviews with
pupils from every class to get
their views on green travel and
raise awareness of the
eco-friendly options on offer.
Councillor Iris Johnston said:
“The children should be very
proud of their efforts and are
wortthy ‘Green Champions’.
“The council are delighted to
be supporting this scheme as
promoting green travel to
younger generations and getting
them engaged with this issue is
so important to everyone.”
Lessons on
prayer at
spirituality
commission
A new commission has been
established in the diocese of
Southwark to help parishes
foster spirituality and
prayer.
The Southwark Spirituality
Commission’s first event will
be on December 6 at St
George’s Cathedral. Dr
Gemma Simmons will speak
about how to pray and
represent- atives from
several religious orders will
talk about their different
spiritual traditions.
The day starts at 10.30
am and will conclude at 4
pm. For more information or
to book a place visit
rcsouthwarkspirituality.
wordpress.com.

The Pilgrim October 2014
Features
Why are there now several
Eucharistic Prayers?
The fifth in a series of answers to questions about
the Mass by Fr David Gibbons, director of the
diocesan Centre for Catholic Formation.
The Eucharistic Prayer is the “centre and
high point of the entire celebration”, as it is
“the prayer of thanksgiving and celebration”
(General Instruction to the Roman Missal).
For centuries there was only one central
prayer – the Roman Canon – in the Latin Rite
of Mass. Pope Paul VI changed this, and in
the latest Missal there are seven: Eucharistic
Prayers I, II, III and IV, Eucharistic Prayers for
Reconciliation I and II, and the Eucharistic
Prayer for use in Masses for Various Needs
(which, confusingly, has four ‘forms’). For
reasons of space I will concentrate on the
main four.
The origins and the development of the
Roman Canon or Eucharistic Prayer I are lost
in the mists of time, but we know that it
started in the fourth century, when the
Roman Church began to use Latin in its
liturgies.
It is over 1,600 years old and is, thus, a
very venerable text. It was deliberately
composed not in everyday language but in a
complex, rhetorical style, which was thought
to be suitable for addressing Almighty God
(so it has ‘chalice’, for example, rather than
‘cup’).
Its rich language stresses the concept of
sacrifice, and it uses many words such as
‘oblation’ to avoid monotony.
The Roman Canon is, however, long and
has a very confusing structure. It also (this is
a sign of its antiquity) lacks the invocation of
the Holy Spirit found in almost every other
eucharistic prayer, especially in the eastern
Churches. Pope Paul VI decided to retain the
Roman Canon, but to add three new ones.
Eucharistic Prayer II is based on a
eucharistic prayer of St Hippolytus, written
around 215, the earliest eucharistic prayer
we have. It is brief – and perhaps therefore
overused – but it is not short on theology.
Eucharistic Prayer III was mainly written
by a 20th century Benedictine monk, Dom
Cyprian Vagaggini, blending various biblical
and ancient liturgical texts. This eucharistic
prayer has as its main themes creation,
holiness and sacrifice.
Eucharistic Prayer IV is based on one from
the fourth century, that of St Basil, a bishop
in the eastern church. It presents a summary
of the history of salvation, and so to avoid
disrupting the narrative only its own preface
can be used.
Above all it expounds a theology of glory –
both in the work of the Liturgy and in God’s
creation and redemption.
This Prayer in the old translation was often
disregarded because it seemed to be sexist
and not inclusive of women. The new
translation is a considerable improvement in
this respect.
The General Instruction in the Missal
indicates how the priest should select which
Prayer to use; he doesn’t toss a coin to
decide! The Roman Canon is suitable for the
major solemnities (which have special texts
to be included), the Feasts of the Saints that
are mentioned in it, and Sundays.
Eucharistic Prayer II is appropriate for
weekdays. Eucharistic Prayer III is to be
preferred on Sundays and festive days.
Eucharistic Prayer IV can only be used
because of its fixed preface on weekdays and
Sundays in Ordinary Time.
The Eucharistic Prayer is an act of perfect
worship (it adores God and gives him glory),
an act of perfect gratitude (it thanks God for
all his gifts), an act of perfect prayer (it
intercedes for all our needs), and an act of
perfect reconciliation (it makes atonement
for the sins of the living and the dead).
Page 5

Behind the scenes The Pilgrim September 2014
Putting social justice in
Helen O’Brien, chief executive of Catholic
Social Action Network (CSAN), explains how
charities in Southwark archdiocese help some
of the most needy and vulnerable people
The CSAN roadshow at St
Peter’s Church, Woolwich
When it comes to supporting the
most vulnerable in our
communities, there’s a lot going on
in the archdiocese of Southwark.
From food banks and homeless
shelters to lunch clubs and day
centres, charities are committed to
helping people live full and
dignified lives.
This was evident at the Caritas
Southwark Roadshow at St Peter’s
Church in Woolwich in June, when
parish groups, charities and
organisations from across the
region joined together to share the
work already taking place and
explore what opportunities exist
for collaborative working.
CSAN (Caritas Social Action
Network) is a family of 41 charities,
existing to support and change the
lives of people who are affected by
poverty, loneliness and isolation.
Poverty can manifest itself in
many ways: being without food to
feed your family, not having a
secure place to call home, not
being able to heat this home
adequately, struggling to find work
that covers rent and bills or being
without a friendly face or a
conversation for weeks at a time.
On this latter point, Mother
Theresa spoke about the ‘poverty
of loneliness’ that is an affliction of
western cultures.
It is the task of CSAN to
represent the network of charities
working to support older people,
people with disabilities, children
and families, people who have
become homeless, asylum seekers,
refugees, travellers and prisoners.
The CSAN team works to
strengthen the network of
charities, influence decisionmakers
and use our voice at a
national level.
As with any organisation working
in the third-sector, there are
challenges.
We need to make sure that in the
run-up to next year’s election, our
voice is heard with decision-makers
ensuring that the important
domestic issues which affect the
people our members work with –
such as housing, employment, food
security – are high on the political
agenda. Social justice as well as
social action.
Charities also need to consider
how technology and social media
have changed public attitudes
around supporting and donating.
And, of course, perception and
accountability is even more
important, ensuring that we are
seen to be taking action in the
right ways that most benefit those
we seek to serve.
And, of course, we need to make
sure that we are not reinventing
the wheel, ensuring that the
valuable work already taking place
in parishes is not repeated or
reworked, but supported at a
diocesan and a national level.
Parish involvement in charity
work is, in many ways, the most
effective way to directly reach
those in need; all the charities that
are part of the CSAN network
conduct their work at a local level.
By identifying the needs and
requirements that are specific to a
community, people can see on a
human level what work needs to be
done and what is the best way for
this to reach vulnerable people.
Our challenge and mission is to
make sure that these organisations
are best equipped in order to work
together, to share resources,
experience and expertise so they
can get on with the very important
task of helping people who have
become marginalised from our
society.
Housing Justice
As the national voice of Christian action in the field of housing
and homelessness, Housing Justice believes that the lack of
decent housing challenges human dignity.
Housing Justice works nationally, supporting night shelters,
drop-ins and practical projects as well as providing advice and
training for churches and community groups who work with
homeless people.
■ www.housingjustice.org.uk
A Pact to start again for former prisoners
Pact (Prison Advice and Care Trust)
supports prisoners and their families to
make a fresh start in life.
Pact assists prisoners and ex-offenders
in the resettlement process and, through
visitor centres, supervises family
support and helps to facilitate positive
contact between prisoners and their
families while serving time, through the
release process and beyond.
‘John’ was the facilitator for the Basic
Caring Communities (BaCC), a
resettlement project for ex-offenders
pioneered by Pact. The group mentors
and supports an individual in the run-up
to and following their release. He tells
the story of PK, who had served his
sentence at HMP Brixton.
“I was the facilitator for the BaCC
group that supported PK from 9 April to
the middle of July 2014. At the outset
his prospects didn’t look that promising.
PK, aged 34, had had over a dozen
convictions since the age of 15.
“On his release, two of our group
accompanied him on the journey from
HMP Brixton to his probation office. PK
seemed to know a lot about benefits,
and seemed irritated when he was told
that some he expected no longer
existed! I got the impression that he felt
that society owed him a living.
“The Probation Service wasn’t very
helpful, partly because they were in the
process of being privatised, and had lost
their housing officer. They referred us to
the local Homeless Action office, and we
went to their day centre, where we had
a supportive session with a case worker.
“Accommodation looked like being the
big problem at the start, as PK had said
his mother wouldn’t have him at her
home as ‘she’s tired of the police
breaking the door down.’”
“Nevertheless she did put him up for
about two months. The council’s housing
department referred him quite quickly
to a private landlord, from whom he got
a flat, and also gave him vouchers for
furniture and household equipment.
“The other important factor for PK
was his seven-year old son. The boy
lived with PK’s former partner in
Stratford, but spent weekends with PK’s
mother, which turned out to be an
important bond between PK and his
mother and stepfather. Also PK insisted
that he wanted to sort himself out for
his son’s sake, so that he could help to
bring him up.
“The other important development
was that PK got work with his sister’s
boyfriend, which gave him a little extra
money but, more importantly, kept him
occupied. When the group ended, this
work had stopped, because of holidays,
and not having anything to do worried
PK.
“PK engaged well with the BaCC
group. Initially he was very edgy, but
after a few meetings he seemed calmer,
and after a month or so he was quite
relaxed.
“We had had another BaCC member,
but she only attended one meeting and
then dropped out as she seemed to find
the regular email feedback a burden, but
overall the group worked well together
in supporting PK.
“An important factor in the group’s
success was that two of us had been in a
previous BaCC together and worked well
together, the other positive factor was
that two of the BaCC members were
quite close in age to PK, which gave the
meetings a different dynamic.
“The success factors for the BaCC
were the availability of accommodation
for PK, and family support, including
work, and his own determination to sort
out his life for the sake of his son.
■ www.prisonadvice.org.uk
Page 6

The Pilgrim September 2014
Behind the scenes
to action
Challenges in the
archdiocese
■ Unemployment – A 2013 study by the Centre for Social Justice
singled out Margate as facing levels of unemployment similar to some
of the country’s most deprived inner city areas.
■ Education – 13 per cent of people living in the borough of Southwark
have no qualifications.
■ Children and young people – as of 2011, 21 per cent of children in
Southwark and Lambeth live in severe poverty. That’s more than 1 in
5. This is the 6th worst statistic in the UK, the worst being at 27 per
cent.
More than one in five children under the age of five (21.1 per cent)
in Kent are living in poverty.
■ Overcrowding – around 12 per cent of households in the borough of
Southwark live in overcrowded conditions, with the highest levels of
overcrowding being experienced in the council’s own housing stock at
15 per cent.
■ Homeless acceptances – out of 973 households in the borough of
Southwark who applied as homeless in 2011/12, 437 either contained
dependent children or a pregnant woman. The main reason for loss of
the last settled home was that parents, relatives and friends were no
longer willing to accommodate them.
Helping hand for the
young and vulnerable
Depaul UK
Depaul UK helps young people who
have found themselves homeless and
vulnerable.
Depaul’s work is three-fold:
preventing young people from
becoming homeless by rebuilding
troubled family relationships and
offering support for young offenders,
protecting young people who are
homeless through nightstops and
longer-term accommodation, and
helping young people to progress
beyond homelessness with training
and education programmes.
Community fundraising manager,
Natalie Wood describes how Depaul is
working in the local area, “In the
archdiocese of Southwark we are the
pathway provider for the borough of
Greenwich.
“We won the bid this year and
Depaul now supports 141 young people
in 14 accommodation projects.”
She added, “We run our Nightstop
service – emergency accommodation
in the spare room of a volunteer host –
in this diocese and we are always
looking for volunteer hosts.”
■ www.depauluk.org
We need to make sure that in the run-up to next year’s
election, our voice is heard on the important domestic
“issues which affect the people our members work with
”
“
Parish charity
work is, in many
ways, the most
effective way to
directly reach
those in need...
”
Page 7

Features The Pilgrim October 2014
School and college governors
– the unsung heroes
by Michael Cullinane
During the 2012 London Olympics,
you could not fail to be impressed
by the magnificent contribution
made by the 70,000 Games Makers
in helping ensure the Olympic
events were a resounding success.
This was a very large volunteer
force but nowhere near as big as
the largest volunteer force in the
country – school and college
governors who, through their work,
also make a magnificent
contribution to the successes of
the institutions they represent.
Each governing body, working in
partnership with the headteacher
or principal and staff, is an
integral part of the leadership and
development of the school or
college and the contribution the
governing body makes to overall
improvement in standards is
scrutinised closely by inspectors
when Ofsted calls.
Governing bodies have duties
which are set out in law and can
be summarised as ensuring the
vision, ethos and strategic
direction of the school, holding the
headteacher to account for the
educational performance of the
school and its pupils and
overseeing the financial
performance of the school and
that its money is well spent.
These duties vary for governing
bodies in colleges but are in the
same vein.
A governing body is made up of
different categories of governors.
One of the categories in Catholic
schools and colleges is that of
foundation governor. Foundation
governors are appointed by the
bishop (or the superior if the
school is in the trusteeship of a
religious order) and the number of
foundation governors must always
be in the majority over the number
all other categories of governor
counted collectively.
The foundation governor has an
important role in the Catholic
school and college. There is a duty
under English law for the
foundation governor to preserve
and maintain the religious
character of the school and that
the school is conducted in
accordance with the trust deed.
All categories of governors must
ensure that the school is run in
accordance with the teachings of
the Catholic Church and canon law.
This means that foundation
governors take the lead in
ensuring the intentions of the
bishop in regards to Catholic
schools and colleges are made
known to the governing body and
that any diocesan policies for
schools and colleges are
implemented.
The governing body in the
Catholic school and college is the
Archbishop Peter blessing a
classroom at the new St Richard
Reynolds School in Twickenham.
employer of all staff. It is also
responsible for agreeing and
publishing its admission arrangements
for pupils or students.
It occupies and conducts the
school or college on behalf of the
trustees of the diocese or religious
order and has a stewardship role in
relation to care of the buildings
and land, ensuring that both are
maintained and used in accordance
with the trust deed.
The governing body must also
ensure that religious education and
collective worship are in
accordance with the teachings of
the Catholic Church and conform
to diocesan policies.
Governors in our schools and
colleges come from a variety of
backgrounds, bringing a myriad of
skills and experiences that are
welcomed and utilised. The fact
that over 90 per cent of our
schools and colleges, which is
higher than the national average,
were judged to be outstanding or
good in their last Ofsted inspection
is testimony to the exceptional
quality of the governing bodies in
our schools and colleges.
A school or college cannot be
judged to be outstanding or good
unless governance is also
outstanding or good.
We are truly blessed to have
such dedicated and committed
people who give selflessly and
generously of their own time,
sharing their skills and talents and
we are enormously appreciative of
all that they do. We cannot thank
them enough.
Their contributions and the
passion they bring to their role are
instrumental in working with the
staff in the school and college to
support the children and young
people in their individual faith
journeys and to help provide
better life chances for them
through their commitment to the
pursuit of excellence in all its
forms which has its foundation in
the gospel value of the call to
perfection.
If you are 18 or over and can get
a recommendation from your
parish priest and would like to
know more about becoming a
foundation governor in a Catholic
school or college in the diocese,
contact m.cullinane@education
commission.org.uk for details.
Making a place at the table
by Nana Anto-Awuakye
I grew up in the Wiltshire countryside, and
loved harvest time, chasing the combine
harvester as it reaped its crops, and
seeing some of the wheat in church along
with baskets of fruits and homemade
breads and cakes.
It was a magical time, knowing that
there was all this lovely food to eat over
the darker, colder autumnal evenings.
Roll on a few years and secondary
school. I should have been the Lorraine
Pascale of the 1970s, but instead I wasn’t
any good at home economics at all. I did
make a great Victoria sandwich cake,
which probably bumped my D grade to a C
grade!
Back in the day, learning to cook at
school wasn’t inspiring or fun: we didn’t
have a Jamie Oliver or Lorraine Pascale to
inspire us, or television programmes such
as The Great British Bake Off or
MasterChef.
However, Keith Floyd’s entertaining TV
series about his travels across the world
discovering the delights of foreign cuisine
and his tippling at the red wine, was
always the subject of conversation the
next day at school.
Everywhere ones looks we are
bombarded with messages of what food to
buy at reasonable prices, and newspapers
and magazines whet our taste buds with
the latest delicious recipes, teaching us all
we need to know to get the dish just
right.
And the joy of baking or cooking is
sharing our efforts with family and
friends.
Recently, at the coffee morning at St
Mary Magdalen’s in Brockley, one of the
regulars told me that he was heading off
home to cook for nine friends who were
coming around.
We started to swap our cooking stories
and sharing our favourite recipes we cook
for friends.
Cafod Harvest Fast Day this year is
calling on Catholics across England and
Wales to mark harvest by making a place
at our table for families around the world
who don’t have enough food to eat.
We make our places at our table for the
one in eight of the world’s population –
the vast majority of them being the
poorest women, children and men – who
don’t have enough to eat every day.
The challenges they face are immense,
and with a changing climate and more
extreme weather, it is making it even
harder for these communities to grow
enough of the food they need.
We need to support them to find more
sustainable ways to grow food.
On my recent trip to Sudan’s Darfur
region I met Mohammed, who was able to
grow enough food for his family and also
earns money from his crops, because of
the support that Cafod’s partner
Norwegian Church Aid is able to provide.
“I’m content now that my hands are
busy growing food,” Mohammed told me.
It’s not the amount that you are able to
give at harvest time that matters. It could
just £1 a week, the cost of the ingredients
of the next recipe you are going to try
out. What deeply matters is the fact that
we are willing to share the feast that God
spreads for all of us.
At harvest time we give thanks for what
we have and share with people who don’t
have enough.
Page 8

The Pilgrim October 2014
God is not
hard to find
by John Pridmore
When Mother Teresa once attended a
conference of 1,000 scientists from all over
the world, she held out a flower in her hand
and said, “With all the wonder of science you
can’t create this flower. But God can.”
If we look around at the marvels of the
planet, we can see evidence of God’s
existence everywhere. I’m filled with awe
when I watch a TV nature documentary about
the incredible variety of animals or sea life.
All of this didn’t happen by accident. It had a
creator behind it.
There’s no conflict between religion and
science, as some people think. Many
scientists, in fact, nowadays accept that
there is a creator. You don’t have to take the
account of Adam and Eve literally. What the
book of Genesis is explaining is not how and
when the world was created, but that there’s
a creator who brought it into being.
Up until the age of 27 I didn’t believe in
God. I thought God was a fiction, like a
character in a fairy tale. In his book The God
Delusion, Richard Dawkins says more or less
the same thing. I think Dawkins and others
who share his views have a distorted image
of God.
In many cases, people are reacting against
the religious indoctrination they experienced
in their childhood. What they are really
rejecting is not so much God as organised
religion and being told what to do.
Many people today say they are spiritual
and believe in God but don’t want to be part
of organised religion. They think it gets in
the way and can’t see the point in it. But we
always need rules and regulations.
I’m a Catholic, and I believe in the
Church’s teachings, but I don’t believe you
need organised religion to be free; but I do
think you need God to be free.
Organised religion is important, but it’s
just a tool to lead us to God, but, like any
tool, it has to be used the right way. If we
use it the wrong way, it leads us away from
God. And the history of all the world’s
religions is full of examples of people abusing
religion.
We see this at the moment with Islamic
State in Syria and Iraq. Its followers believe
that the terrible violence and suffering they
inflict is justified because they are doing
God’s will. But such barbarism has nothing to
do with God.
There’s a story of a woman hurrying to
church. A beggar stops her and asks for
money for a meal, but she just pushes him
aside and hurries on. An old woman then
stops her and asks for help to get across the
road, but, again, the woman hurries on.
Then she sees someone’s hat on the floor,
and she just kicks it to one side. Eventually,
she reaches the church and pushed open the
door. As soon as she does, she hears God say,
“If you can’t find me out there, you won’t
find me in here.”
Features
The Benedictine way
Fr Ashley Beck, assistant
priest at St Edmund of
Canterbury, Beckenham, and
lecturer in pastoral ministry
at St Mary’s University,
Twickenham, continues his
series looking at Catholic
saints and major thinkers.
The novel, The Glass Bead Game (Der
Glasperlenspiel) by Hermann Hesse (said
to be a favourite novelist of Pope
Emeritus Benedict) is one of the most
fascinating books of the last century.
In it the Benedictine monk Fr Jacobus
describes his religious order: “It is one of
those long-lived organisations whose
purpose is to gather, educate and
reshape men’s minds and souls, to make
nobility of them, not by eugenics, not by
blood, but by the spirit – a nobility as
capable of serving as of ruling.”
This great history is due to the saint
we are considering this month, Benedict
of Nursia, who lived in the fifth and sixth
centuries. Benedict was the first person
to be named a patron saint of Europe, by
Pope Paul VI in 1964, and for some years
was the only one.
Benedict and his twin sister
Scholastica were children of a Roman
nobleman. After his education, shocked
by the moral depravity in Rome, at the
young age of 20 he “dropped out” of
society and went to live as a hermit in a
cave near Subiaco, south east of Rome.
Soon, others gathered round him and
this led to the setting up of small
communities, initially of about 12 monks
each. The novelty of this caused trouble
in the local area and in the year 525 with
his followers he withdrew further south
to Monte Cassino, between Rome and
Naples.
The movement he began spread all
over western Europe (and eventually the
world). Benedictine monasteries became
a big part of the history of Europe, and
that is why he was a natural choice for a
patron saint of the continent which by
the early 1960s had made big steps
towards unity, integration and
reconciliation.
There are four things about Benedict’s
life and witness which are important for
today’s Europe. These are all found in
the history of the order and in the Rule
which he wrote for his communities to
order their lives, an extraordinary work
in the religious and cultural history of
Europe.
Every aspect of the life of the
monastery is covered, and in very
straightforward and clear language: at
the same time it has something to say for
all of us, not just those called to be
monks and nuns.
The first thing is that Benedict stresses
the value of work, by which he meant
physical work. This has led to the value
placed on manual labour in the social
teaching of the Church, explored a great
deal by St John Paul II, and reflected in
the Church’s support for Trades Unions.
The second feature is peace. Benedict
is described as having a peaceable and
gentle character, and, of course, in a
community like a monastery people have
to live in peace, to give way to one
another, to be quickly reconciled, to
avoid violence.
Benedict is often depicted by artists
holding up the word ‘Pax’, the motto of
the Benedictine order. This is an
inspiration for the Catholic Church’s
witness for peace and condemnation of
war: Benedictine monasteries or
convents have often been refuges for
those fleeing war and violence.
This brings us to the third feature of
his communities which is important:
hospitality. Benedict taught the monks
that every guest or stranger should be
treated as if he or she was Jesus himself,
and to this day they are not allowed to
charge guests for board and lodging:
many of you will remember when the
Von Trapp family in The Sound of Music
are given refuge in the convent in
Salzburg.
For Europe this is an important
message: to show hospitality to refugees
and migrants is a Christian virtue, and a
comparatively prosperous continent has
a duty to be more welcoming and to
reject xenophobia and suspicion.
The final thing we learn from the
Benedictine vision is the importance of
education. Throughout history Benedict’s
foundations have been centres of
learning and scholarship – indeed, at
times they were the only ones.
Much of the history of Catholic
education in this country, both before
the Reformation and since, has been
bound up with Benedictine communities,
particularly in abbeys such as Downside,
Worth and Ampleforth.
Work, peace, hospitality and
education: very simple ideas, but good
guiding lights for today’s Europe. That’s
why Benedict, the first patron saint of
Europe, is so important.
“
I don’t believe you need organised
religion to be free; but I do think you
need God to be free.
“
Monte
Cassino: First
home of a
Benedictine
order
Page 9

Features The Pilgrim September 2014
Diary — October
Simone’s artistic journey
If you have an
event, please
e-mail details
to us at
pilgrim@
rcsouthwark.co.uk
2 – 3: Catholic Headteachers’ Conference
2014
Ashford International Hotel, Ashford.
Speakers include Fr Chris Jamison OSB;
Professor James Conroy (University of
Glasgow); Dr John Lydon (St Mary’s
University); Megan McKenna (Albuquerque,
USA); and Archbishop Peter.
For more information visit
www.educationcommission.org.uk.
2, 9, and 16: Three talks by Sebastian
Morello exploring baptism, 7.30 pm – 8.30
pm, Centre for Catholic Formation,
Tooting Bec.
For more information visit
www.ccftootingbec.org.uk.
4: Day of study and reflection for
catechists in west Kent, 11 am – 4 pm,
The Hermitage, West Malling.
For more information visit
www.ccftootingbec.org.uk.
18: A recital by pianist Carl Bahoshy in
aid of Iraqi Christians in Need, 7 pm,
Our Lady and St. Peter, Victoria Drive,
Wimbledon Common.
30: Beginning of a four-week course for
new catechists and those who want to
learn how to pass on their faith in the
south-west London pastoral area, 7.30 pm –
9 pm, Centre for Catholic Formation,
Tooting Bec.
31: An exploration of Evangelii Gaudium,
organised by the Croydon circle of the
Newman Association and led by Canon
Frank O’Sullivan, 7.45 pm - 9.30pm, the
parish hall at Our Lady of the Annunciation,
Bingham Rd, Addiscombe.
More details from Deacon Philip Pond on
020 8651 2477 or e-mail
philippond@blueyonder.co.uk.
Regular meetings
Every Wednesday, the active retirement
group, St Andrew’s Church Hall, Quadrant
Road, Thornton Heath, 2 pm – 4 pm.
Further details from Philip Chapman on
020 8679 2010 or 07450 145071.
Graphic artist Simone Lia
explains why she returned to
her faith and why she now
sees art as her vocation.
As a teenager I discovered a love
of painting and drawing. I would
be utterly happy when being lost
in the moment of making a
painting.
My parents gave me a ‘studio’
to work in by making space in
the garden shed. Sharing that
with a rusty and dusty
lawnmower, tools and plenty of
spiders was heaven.
This passion for creating took
me to art school and I eventually
got small jobs as a freelance
artist and comics creator.
Although I had not been
practising my faith for many
years, deep within my soul were
seeds that had been planted
from hearing the gospel at Mass
as a child and loving Jesus
dearly.
These seeds would try to
emerge through my artwork… in
hindsight I think that the Holy
Spirit was gently guiding me
back to Jesus through my
creative practice.
It was on a research trip in
Sicily, writing in particular about
a fictional character who had
had a life changing experience,
that God brought me home to
Himself. Some evangelistic
Mormons accidentally redirected
me back to my rusty
and dusty Catholic faith. Like my
fictional character, I too had a
life-changing experience.
Although I was really happy
and at peace about returning to
the Church, I started to have
anxieties about being an artist.
It seemed like it wasn’t helping
anyone. Was I supposed to be
drawing Bible comics now?
My creativity became stifled,
even drawing talking aubergines
and table lamps had lost its
appeal. I had an increasing
National Gallery rediscovers Rembrandt
The National Gallery is launching a major exhibition of the final years of Rembrandt. Rembrandt:
The Late Works features approximately 40 paintings, 20 drawings and 30 prints. These include The
Jewish Bride, An Old Woman Reading, A Man in Armour and Bathsheba with King David’s Letter.
Curator Betsy Wieseman said, “Even three-and-a-half centuries after his death, Rembrandt
continues to astonish and amaze. His technical inventions, and his profound insight into human
emotions, are as fresh and relevant today as they were in the 17th century.”
The exhibition runs in the Sainsbury Wing from 15 October – 18 January 2015.
dread that God might want me
to do something useful and
difficult instead.
While walking to my local park
several years ago I had a feeling
that Jesus was going to ask me
to do something big for him. We
reached the park and I imagined
him sitting on the grass in front
of me.
In my heart I begged him to
not ask me to become a doctor
or surgeon and hysterically gave
him a long list of reasons why.
He sat cross-legged and
patiently waited for me to
finish. He wasn’t asking that of
me. He wanted me to write the
graphic novel that I’d started
but had given up on. As he said
this, he stood up, opened a filing
cabinet and pulled out a whole
wad of blank sheets of paper
and handed them to me saying
that he would help me.
He asked if I would do it. I
said yes! It seemed so much
easier than becoming a surgeon!
That time in the park made
me realise that Jesus has given
me the gifts that I have and he
can work through these; he
doesn’t expect or want me to be
somebody else to make him
happy. He just wants me to be
me.
The graphic novel became a
book called Please God, Find Me
A Husband! The story isn’t about
how to find a husband (sorry!)
it’s a personal story about my
relationship with God. I wanted
to show this relationship that
cannot be seen and make it real
to whoever is reading, giving
them a peak into a part of my
soul.
I try to let the Holy Spirit
guide me with the creative
projects that I take. Sometimes
that means drawing a talking
carrot or some other vegetable
and that’s okay.
A recent project is what I call
a Give-Give project. I’ve made
150 limited edition screen prints
of this heart. The idea is that
you buy a heart to give away to
someone that you love.Then 100
pre cent of the profit is then
given to the charity Life.
Get in touch if you’d like to
give.
■ www.simonelia.com
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Page 10
To advertise in this newspaper contact Carol Malpass.
Tel: 0161 214 1244 or
email: carol.malpass@thecatholicuniverse.com

The Pilgrim September 2014
150 years of service:
when Annecy Sisters
came to Southwark
This year, the Sisters of
St Joseph of Annecy celebrate
their 150th anniversary. Sr
Bridget Pritchard looks back at
their arrival in Southwark.
Today it is not uncommon for religious congregations
and dioceses to look to India for help here in Britain.
But in 1864 it was highly unusual, yet it was in this way
that the Sisters of St Joseph of Annecy (SSJA) arrived in
England.
An English army captain, stationed in India, asked
that the Sisters go to his hometown of Malmesbury in
Wiltshire. Captain Charles Dewell had become a
Catholic while in India and wanted to share his newfound
faith back home.
He invited first the Missionaries of St. Francis de
Sales to establish a parish and later offered the SSJA
his house in Malmesbury.
He went on to become a Jesuit brother. Unfortunately,
due to a mistake, the house already had
sitting tenants so our first community began about 10
miles away in Devizes.
In August 1864 three Sisters arrived; two from India
and one a novice from Annecy, a town in south-eastern
France, although she had previously been teaching in
Chippenham.
These early years were very difficult, with great
suspicion of Catholics common at that time. The sisters
worked hard to establish trust and acceptance, living
out their rule of life to pass on to others the love of
God “in the simplicity of ordinary everyday
relationships”.
They suffered setbacks in trying to reach out to
others, in establishing schools and educating those in
need. They experienced poverty, illness and death
themselves. As one of the early sisters lay dying she
asked for an orange but the community did not have
the money to provide it for her.
However, despite these early struggles the mission
grew. Over the past 150 years the sisters have spread
across England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, building
these “ordinary everyday relationships” through a wide
range of works such as education, health and social
care, responding to human trafficking, counselling,
retreat-giving and hospitality.
The sisters have made a particularly significant
contribution to Catholic education in the Southwark
diocese, with schools in Chatham, Morden, Downham,
and Lee
In 1924, the Chatham Convent School was opened
after a chance meeting between the sisters while on
holiday in Ilfracombe and Fr Simmonds, a curate at St
Michael’s in Chatham.
The parish priest at Chatham saw a need for a
Catholic school in the area and the sisters obliged. This
was St Joseph’s Convent High School; eventually, in the
1970s, the St John Fisher Comprehensive school was
built and the Convent High School phased out.
In the 1930s Fr Simmonds moved to Downham and,
having built Good Shepherd Elementary School, asked
that the sisters should be employed there. Sr Ambrose
and Sr Philomena were appointed and so sprung up a
community at Grove Park, where the Downham sisters
lived.
In 1936, Sr Mary Baptist was appointed headteacher
of Lee Elementary School, to be followed by Sr
Sebastian, who was responsible for the old building
being replaced by a new one.
Their community house at Grove Park was extended,
and plans put in place to open a private school but the
war overtook the project. By the time the war had
finished plans had changes, and in 1945 the premises
were used as an orphanage instead.
The spur for this change was an event that happened
some time previously, when a baby girl was found
abandoned on the convent doorstep. For years the
sisters looked after those children sent to them by a
diocesan orphanage society.
In 1935 a school was opened in Morden and this
became a centre for sisters teaching in both the junior
and comprehensive schools in the area.
Much has changed during those 150 years, but the
sisters are still working in Southwark. We have houses
in Rainham and Mottingham.
School days
Name: Michael Cullinane.
Home? Lee Green.
Job? Deputy Director of Education at the
Diocesan Education Commission.
Feature
Secondary School? Bishop Ullathorne in
Coventry. It was run by the Vincentian
priests who believed in academic rigour
and excellence in sport (as long as it was rugby. Soccer was not
allowed!). It was a very strict school, which may not have been
so appealing to us then but something you are grateful for later
on in life.
Favourite subject? Religious education. We had priests teaching
us and they really made you think and reflect. It also ensured
that the subject had the same importance as other subjects. It
was the only lesson in which I can remember we had great
discussions.
Worst Subject? Maths. It was not until we did trigonometry at
the beginning of the O-level course that it started to make sense
to me. We had to make theodolites from rulers and protractors
and measure the height of the school buildings and it was at last
something in maths that I was good at, enjoyed doing, and saw
the point of it.
Favourite teacher? David Pescod. He was our exceptionally
inspirational English teacher in the third year. He introduced me
to the joy of books and poetry. He brought literature to life and
taught us the skills of reading. I read my first ‘grown up’ book in
that class, Shane by Jack Schaefer. I endeavour to read a book
each week.
Favourite school dinner? All of them
Guilty secret? We had a maths teacher, Mr Hirst, who made us
copy out page 42 of the geometry text book as a punishment.
Once, during a free lesson when we had a cover teacher, I asked
the class to copy out page 42 and I bought them for a penny (old
pence) each. When class mates were given the punishment, I
sold them a page for three old pennies.
What lessons about life did you learn? There will always be ups
and downs but there are always people there to help you as long
as you are prepared to accept their help.
What do you wish you had been told?
have clouds.
Silver linings sometimes
What did you do immediately after school? I went to St Mary’s
College in Strawberry Hill (which was under the stewardship of
the Vincentians at that time). I studied divinity and history as a
dual main. I also studied drama as a subsidiary and taught it along
with religious education for 30 years. The two subjects were a
great combination for producing and directing Passion plays.
What career advice would you give to a young person?
Whatever you choose to do always give it 100% and always heed
the advice from those who have been in the job a long time. It
may not always be advice you want to follow but it will always be
what you need to know.
Annecy lies
in the
Rhône-Alpes
region in
southeastern
France, with
Geneva
around 20
miles away
across the
border
Page 11

The Pilgrim September 2014
Focus on faith
Following the way
of St Francis
To advertise in this newspaper contact Carol Malpass.
Tel: 0161 214 1244 or email: carol.malpass@thecatholicuniverse.com
Paula Pearce explains what
the Secular Franciscan
Order is and why she is a
member.
As secular Franciscans we seek to build up the Church
in small ways, according to where we live, using our
skills and gifts.
The Secular Franciscan Order (OFS) does not carry
out a specific practical mission, unlike St Vincent de
Paul, for example. Active members undertake a range
of work, with the support and prayer of other
fraternity members.
When I was admitted into the Order as a founder
member of the Canterbury fraternity, in June 1979, it
had quite a different character. It was then The Third
Order of Saint Francis, following the rule of 1883.
Pope Paul VI promulgated the rule of 1979, which
members follow today. This has been transformative,
not least because the order is now autonomous,
whereas before it was dependent upon the First
Orders of Friars Minor (OFM, OFM Capuchin and OFM
Conventural).
The Secular Franciscan Order is international. Our
members are helped by spiritual assistants, mainly
from the Franciscan first order brothers. All
Franciscans share the mission that Francis was given
to repair the Church.
The single acronym OFS (Ordo Franciscanus
Saecularis) was adopted in 2011. In the Englishspeaking
world, the Order is known as the Secular
Franciscan Order. Members wear a small Franciscan
symbol. This can be a simple TAU cross, or the
national or international symbol, either as a lapel pin
or a pendant.
I now belong to St Pio, Ashford. Local fraternity
meetings provide an opportunity to discuss and share
faith and Franciscan spirituality. Each local fraternity
is part of a region. The OFS regions are different to
diocesan areas. Our national fraternity is England,
Scotland and Wales.
Ashford is one of six fraternities that make up the
south east region of OFS GB. The others are Croydon,
Sevenoaks, Canterbury, Erith and Hollington
(Hastings). Some London region fraternities are in
Southwark diocese.
We hold regional days. In 2013 SE Region had the
overall theme of respect for the human person and we
had days on human trafficking and learning more
about specifically Franciscan contributions on human
dignity and respect.
Over the years, I have met Franciscans who have
helped me to have a less self-centred and
domineering manner, to deal with difficult or tense
situations, to adopt a spirit of humble service, and
gain a clearer understanding and experience of my
faith.
As a professed member, I try to live my faith more
seriously and deeply. Francis knew the scriptures well.
He grew in faith through experience, rooted in
certainty of the love that he came to know God had
for him. He wanted everyone to become aware of
God’s unconditional love.
He tried to imitate Jesus and spent long periods of
solitude in between active missionary travels. He
preached, served and lived among the lowly and poor,
particularly associated with service of lepers, because
Jesus was humble, lowly and poor.
He saw vestiges of the divine reflected throughout
creation, calling every creature brother or sister
because all share the same Father/Creator. Jesus was
his elder brother, his teacher, his healer, his friend,
and much more.
Jesus was the centre of his life. By the end of his
life he was living in deep communion with God,
bearing the stigmata for the last couple of years.
I want to give one example of practical help
concerning forgiveness, which came from Francis’
writings and sources. In a prayer inspired by the Our
Father, Francis sets out the ideal of asking the Lord to
help us forgive completely so we truly love our
enemies.
However, he continues with more manageable
suggestions: “Fervently to intercede for them...
returning no one evil for evil... strive to help
everyone.”
Sources tell us that he asked someone else to bless
a person who was wishing him ill. From these, I have
found my way to forgiveness. I can, initially, simply
ask God to bless the person who has hurt me and to
give me the grace to seek not to return evil. In time, I
have been led to forgiveness.
Anyone interested in belonging to the order can
visit a fraternity. After a few months, if they want to
begin formation, they become enquirers and learn
enough about the order to discern whether it might be
right for them.
The local council has to agree at every level so
discernment is a shared responsibility. After enquiry
comes candidacy, where the final discernment is
made.
There is a person responsible for the formation of
those preparing for profession. Profession is a public
ceremony in which members undertake to follow the
Gospel, according to the rule and constitutions, as a
member of the local fraternity. They then belong to
the international Secular Franciscan Order.
Often members join once their children are grown
up, or they are retired, or in less demanding work
situations. There are younger exceptions.
In other countries there is YouFra (Young
Franciscans). We are just starting a small group of
Franciscan Youth, based in Stratford.
For further information contact me on 01303 813095
or email:paulapofs@gmail.com.
The beautiful city
of Assisi... and St
Francis, as painted
by Jusepe de Ribera
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