Issue 02 - The Pilgrim - February 2012 - The newspaper of the Archdiocese of Southwark

Pupils make
charity pop video
Page 4
Seaside retreat
for young people
Pages 6-7
Why education is about
more than just exams
Page 8
the
Pilgrim
50p
The newspaper of the Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark, covering south London and Kent
‘Families could
lose homes under
new proposals’
Athletics star tells her
inspiring story to children
Many families in south London and
Kent will face hardship and some
might even lose their homes if
new Government legislation is
passed, Archbishop Peter Smith of
Southwark has warned.
“In coming weeks Parliament
will take crucial decisions on
amendments to two Bills, which
will have a profound impact upon
thousands of families.”
“The proposed cap on household
benefits in the Welfare Reform
Bill will especially hurt
larger families because it takes no
account of family size, potentially
forcing them to cut back on
essentials such as heating and
food, and in many cases resulting
in the loss of their home.
“This impact will at least be
mitigated if the Bill is amended so
that child benefit is not counted
towards the capped amount.
There are other issues, too, not
least claimants being liable for
the cost of official errors, even if
they are unaware of those
errors.”
In some parts of South London
and Kent, such as areas of Southwark,
Lambeth and Thanet,
unemployment is high and many
families live on low incomes
and in overcrowded housing
conditions.
In a recent meeting with priests
from the Camberwell deanery,
Archbishop Peter heard how some
families in the area are finding
this time of economic austerity
difficult, especially with the
squeeze on Government financial
support.
“The proposed changes, although
primarily aimed at those
thought better off, will almost
certainly hit those on the margins
as well, pushing them away rather
than following Jesus’ example and
reaching out to the marginalised.
“The social teaching of the
Catholic Church requires us to
have a special care for the most
vulnerable members of society –
vulnerable because of material
poverty, disability, sickness or
age.”
In Choosing the Common Good,
published in 2010, the Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of England
Wales emphasised that government
policies should support
family life and ensure access to
affordable housing.
Archbishop Peter, who is chairman
of the Department for Christian
Responsibility and Citizenship
of the Bishops’ Conference, also
expressed concern over Legal Aid
Sentencing and Punishment of
Offenders Bill.
“Restrictions to the availability
of legal aid outlined in the Bill
will affect thousands of children
whose parents are involved in civil
cases, as well as victims of domestic
abuse, fewer of whom will be
entitled to support,’ he said.
“The result is likely to be increased
long-term public costs as
well as greater suffering.”
He said the member charities of
Caritas Social Action Network believe
these changes will lead to
increasing poverty in Britain.
“While we all recognise that
difficult decisions have to be
made, it is vitally important to
meet the fundamental needs of
the most vulnerable families to
prevent them from being pushed
into further hardship.”
Great Britain heptathlete star
and Olympic hopeful Dominique
Blaize told pupils at her old
school, Holy Cross in New
Malden, how injuries forced her
to quit two years ago.
But the 24-year-old is now
back in top form and earlier
this year won the UK indoor
long jump title.
Speaking to pupils from years
10 and 11 and the sixth form,
she said that while she was a
pupil at Holy Cross, she took
part in a competition in Milan
and had to sit an RE exam while
she was there.
Assistant Head Teacher Sr
Margaret Donovan said
Dominique was a great role
model.
“Dominique was a wonderful
student. She would go off to
take part in competitions, but
she never let her athletics interfere
with her school work.”

Editorial The Pilgrim February 2012
the
2012Pilgrim
50p
December 2011/ January The newspaper of the Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark, covering s
A diocese full of character
The Archdiocese of Southwark
Archbishop Peter Smith
020 7928-2495
archbishop@rcsouthwark.co.uk
www.rcsouthwark.co.uk
Area bishops
Kent
Bishop John Hine
01732 845486
jhine@absouthwark.org
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
020 7928-2495
pilgrim@rcsouthwark.co.uk
Advertising: Chris Morley
0161 488-1743
chris.morley@totalcatholic.net
Distribution: Andrea Black
0161 488-1716
andrea.black@totalcatholic.net
Print management, design and
distribution by The Universe Media
Group Ltd
Promoting a culture of vocation
Greg Watts
I’ve been very encouraged by
the feedback and ideas I’ve
received after the first edition
of The Pilgrim. The general
view has been that it’s great
that the diocese finally has its
own paper and one that is an
interesting read.
Thank you to all those who
sent ideas for stories. I especially
liked ‘The Biker Deacon’
and the lady in one south London
parish who wears outlandish
hats.
Parishes are full of eccentric
characters (thank God). I once
heard of a woman who always
turned up at Mass dressed in
the liturgical colours of the
day.
Some readers said how much
they appreciated John Pridmore’s
honest and earthy approach
to talking about faith.
I’m sure he has inspired and
encouraged many of the pupils
at St Anselm’s School in Canterbury,
where he recently led
a retreat.
In this edition, John asks
what is God really like. He will
be tackling other hot topics in
the coming editions. Also Father
Victor Darlington, who
combines running the parish of
the Sacred Heart in Camberwell
with teaching at Wonersh,
begin a series exploring the
psalms.
Next month I will be starting
a regular column on the ups
and downs of family life. And
there are plenty of other features
in the pipeline.
Now, I have a confession to
make: I don’t drive. I had a
few lessons some years back,
but never really got the hang
of gear sticks, clutches and all
that. The dodgems are much
easier. So I rely on the Underground,
trains and buses to get
me around. I’ve always enjoyed
travelling around London
by bus. I suspect Bishop Pa
Lynch must do too, as I gather
he arrived at his episcopal ordination
at St George’s Cathedral
on the 196 from South
Norwood.
Sitting upstairs, you see London
from a different angle and
you also the tops of people’s
heads, of course. You hear
some extraordinary conversations,
too, especially on the
188 to North Greenwich and
the 47 to Catford.
London’s bus drivers never
seem to receive much gratitude
for the skilful way they
manoeuvre such large vehicles
in and out of traffic.
So here is my way of paying
tribute to them. It’s called The
Bus Driver’s Prayer.
Our Father,
Who art in Hendon
Editor of The Pilgrim Greg
Watts chats with students
at the 'business breakfast'
at Sacred Heart School,
Camberwell
Harrow Road be Thy name
Thy Kingston come
Thy Wimbledon
In Erith as it is in Hendon.
Give us this day our
Berkhampstead
And forgive us our Westminsters
As we forgive those who Westminster
against us.
Lead us not into Temple
Station
And deliver us from Ealing,
For thine is the Kingston
The Purley and the Crawley,
For Iver and Iver
Crouch End
The role of the diocesan Vocations
Director has changed a lot in recent
years. When I applied for the
priesthood I used to see my parish
priest and a priest at school regularly
but had no contact with the
vocations director until I collected
the application form.
Today such a hands-off approach
would be unthinkable. This is
largely because of a significant
change in the understanding of vocations
ministry since the publication
in 1998 of In Verbo Tuo, a
document dedicated to promoting
vocations in Europe.
In Verbo Tuo was the fruit of a
European congress on vocations
that had taken place the previous
year. It set vocations promotion
within the context of ‘the universal
call to holiness’ which had
been strongly underlined by the
Second Vatican Council.
It recognised that people are
slowly coming to understand the
implications of that call to holiness
and spoke of a need now ‘to
create a true and proper vocational
culture’ calling for a ‘leap
in quality’ in vocations work.
It also criticised the idea that
we can resolve the vocations crisis
Page 2
by what it called ‘debatable methods’
such as importing vocations
from other countries. ‘Today’, it
says, ‘No one should delude himself
about resolving the vocations
crisis by going around it’.
The document teaches that vocations
promotion should be an integral
part of the Church’s mission
rather than a reaction to a vocations
shortage. It also teaches
that, because everyone needs to
discern their specific call, vocations
work will tend towards encouraging
all vocations.
Perhaps most significantly, it invites
us to look beyond those already
engaged in the life of the
Church and reach out to those
alienated in different ways which
is why Vocations Directors tend to
get involved with new movements
and those groups promoting the
new evangelisation.
It is often amongst young people
who were once alienated from the
Church that the most solid vocations
arise. This is partly because
the call to holiness engages them
in a real and life transforming way
and also because amongst those
who have experienced the real absence
of God there is often a generous
desire to respond when they
encounter his Real Presence.
If in the past its objective was
‘recruitment’, and its methodology
was ‘propaganda’, today vocations
promotion is understood as a
service to each individual to help
them discern God’s plan for their
lives.
Rather than processing paperwork,
vocations ministry is increasingly
about educating young
people in the faith and forming
them so that they can discern and
respond to God’s call.
Since the publication of In Verbo
Tuo the role of the Vocations Director
has begun to change significantly
in the dioceses of England
and Wales. Increasingly he is proactive
in providing opportunities
for young people to come together
for prayer and for formation in the
faith.
As this has become a reality we
have seen a steady increase in the
number of priestly and religious
vocations in England and Wales.
In Southwark the Vocations Office
is always keen to attend and
help with activities for young people.
Each year we host a retreat,
organised by the Youth 2000 movement,
attracting up to 300 young
people from across the country.
Many of the young people who
have attended this retreat are
now in seminary, others have married,
and a number have joined
religious communities.
We also run two discernment
groups throughout the year. The
first is the Quo Vadis group for
men and women in their college
and university years. The second is
the Seekers Group for older men
discerning a priestly vocation.
Both groups meet monthly and
anyone wanting more information
about them should contact me at
the Southwark Vocations Office.
Fr Stephen Langridge is the
Diocesan Vocations Director
info@southwarkvocations.com

The Pilgrim February 2012
News
Hundreds flock to south London
church for lunchtime healing Mass
Hundreds of people are
packing a south London
church for a healing Mass
on the first Friday of every
month.
Father Michael Scanlon,
parish priest of St Peter’s
church, Woolwich, has
been holding healing
Masses on the first Friday
of each month since 1994.
The congregation at the
12.30 Mass usually numbers
over 600, with people travelling
from across the diocese
and sometimes even
as far away as Paris or Sweden.
‘I feel called to use the
Sacrament of the Sick to
support and comfort
Migrant communities enrich the
Church by their faith and witness,
said Bishop Patrick Lynch, area
bishop for south-east London.
He said that parishes have been
greatly enriched by “the strong
sense of community and commitment
to family life within many of
our migrant communities, by
people who are sick.
It isn’t there just for
physical sickness; it’s also
there for spiritual sickness,’
said Fr Scanlon.
‘At the end of the first
Friday Mass myself and
other priests will offer to
anoint and pray over people.
Sometimes this can go on
for a couple of hours or
more.’
The first Friday Masses at
St Peter’s are preceded by
confession and adoration
from 10.45 am onwards.
Fr Scanlon also celebrates
a family tree healing
Mass on the last Friday
of each month.
Migrant communities help enrich the church
their love for the Scriptures, by
their devotion to Our Lady and
especially by their joyful participation
in the celebration of the
Eucharist.”
The diocese of Southwark serves
large communities from many
countries, including Colombia;
Nigeria; Vietnam; Sri Lanka;
and Poland.
Bishop Patrick made his statement
to coincide with the World
Day for Migrants and Refugees on
January 15.
He concelebrated Mass with
Archbishop Peter Smith at St
George’s Cathedral.
The Mass, organised by The
Scalabrini Fathers for the Filipino
community, also celebrated the
Feast of Sto Nino (Child Jesus).
Around a thousand Filipinos
from across London and the South
East attended, including the
Filipino ambassador and representatives
from the Philippine
embassy.
Retreat draws
young Catholics
Around 300 young people took
part in a retreat at Holy Ghost
Catholic Church,
Balham.
The event, held from December
29 – 1 January, was organised
by Youth 2000 and
included Mass, exposition,
Confession, talks and an allnight
vigil.
Parish film club
for teenagers
A film club for teenagers has
been started at Our Lady Help
of Christians in Blackheath.
The club runs once a month
on Sunday afternoons in the
Angelus Room. Free pizza and
popcorn are provided and a
discussion follows each film.
The first film shown was The
Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.
Vocations trip to
France for seminarians
A group of seminarians and
other young men in Southwark
considering priesthood have
visited Ars and Paray-le-Monial
in France.
The pilgrimage was organised
by the Quo Vardis Group,
established after World Youth
day 2008 to help young people
discern their vocation.
All roads lead to Dublin
An international array of speakers
has been lined up for the 50th
International Eucharistic Congress
in Dublin in June.
They include Cardinal Peter
Turkson, president of the Pontifical
Council for Justice and Peace;
Cardinal Rodriguez Maradiaga of
Honduras; Archbishop Luis
Antonio Tagle of Manilla (above
right); Cardinal Vingt Trois of
Paris; and His Beatitude Fouad
Twai, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem
(above left).
Also taking part in the event
will be Rose Busingye, who directs
Meeting Point Kampala, a
center for those suffering from
Aids; Irish singer and musician
Maeve Louise Heaney; and
Brother Alois Loester, prior of the
Taize Community in France.
The congress opens on June 10
and closes on June 17.
The theme is The Eucharist:
communion with Christ and with
one another.
Bishop Pat Lynch will be leading
the pilgrims from Southwark. For
more information, contact
Fr David Gibbons: dgibbons@
cectootingbec.org.uk.
To register, visit the website
www.iec2012.ie.
Page 3

The Pilgrim February 2012
News
Who is your
Catholic Woman
of the Year
Nominations are invited for
the 2012 Catholic Women of
the Year.
The idea is to honour women
who in their homes and families,
in public office or in their
business or professional
lives, are seeking to live and
uphold the Church’s teachings
with love and dedication.
Nominations should be sent
to Mrs Janette Woodford, 22
Milton Road, Ware, Herts
SG12 0PZ or emailed to:mijamajoje@ntlworld.com
by 30
April.
Rite of Election
The Rite of Election will be
held at St George’s Cathedral
at 12.30 on 25 February in the
first week of Lent.
How to help
retired priests
It is now possible to donate directly
to the diocesan Clergy
Support Fund, which helps to
provide accommodation and
support for our retired priests.
This can be done by visiting
the main Just Giving page for
the diocese by clicking on the
logo on the right, or on the
sidebar.
Mass for Scouts
The National Catholic Scout
Fellowship’s annual Mass will
be at St George’s Cathedral on
12 February at 3 pm.
Helping you
to make your
marriage work
How to build a successful
marriage will be explored
at Amigo Hall, St
George’s Cathedral, on
February 11.
The event, organised
by the Association of
Catholic Diocesan Marriage
and Family Life
Ministries, will include
workshops on enriching
your marriage, marital
What’s in a name All change
for Christian education centre
Father David Gibbons explains
why the Christian Education
Centre in Tooting Bec now has a
new name.
The Centre was established by
Archbishop Cyril Cowderoy in 1968
as the diocesan Catechetical
Centre.
By November 1968, the Centre
had a new name. ‘Catechetical’
was considered difficult to spell,
pronounce, and explain.
So it was now called the diocesan
Centre for Christian Education
and Formation.
In practice, this was shortened
John Pridmore leads two-week school mission in Canterbury
Former gangster John Pridmore
has led a two-week mission at
St Anselm’s School in Canterbury.
Since turning his back on the
criminal underworld, John has
become a lay evangelist, visiting
parishes, schools and prisons
around the world.
Working with John were
members of St Patrick’s
Community from Carrick-on-
Shannon in Ireland.
Among the issues John talked
to pupils about were prayer,
growing in faith, personal relationships
and discovering their
gifts.
He also signed copies of His
book From Gangland to Promised
Land, which has become a
best-seller.
While in Kent, John and his
community members stayed
with the Benedictine sisters at
Minster Abbey.
spirituality and various
aspects of family life.
It marks the 30th anniversary
of Familiaris
Consortio, Pope John
Paul II’s apostolic exhortation
on the role of the
Christian family.
The day runs from
1.30–5 pm. Admission is
free. To book, e-mail
marriagese@tiscali.co.uk
to the Christian Education Centre,
or CEC. Another reason for the
change was to make it easier to
attract grants from trusts.
‘Christian’ and ‘Education’
ticked boxes in a way that
‘Catholic’ and ‘Formation’ did
not.
Originally, the Centre focussed
mainly on schools and religious
education. However, in time the
diocesan Schools’ Commission took
over these functions.
As well as schools, the Centre
concentrated on catechising
children, especially at
New role for diocesan disability advisor
Cristina Gangemi, the disability advisor
to the Diocese of Southwark for the last
12 years, is to start a new job as a consultant.
She is setting up The Kiaros Forum with
Professor John Swinton of the University
of Aberdeen.
non-Catholic schools.
Again, in time this changed, and
nowadays the focus is more on
adult lay formation.
Thus Archbishop Peter has approved
another name change, to
the diocesan Centre for Catholic
Formation (CCF).
This will avoid the confusion
that many people think the Centre
is responsible for Church schools.
It also better expresses what
the Centre’s work is principally
about: adult lay formation.
The name will have a strapline,
or subtitle, which further clarifies
The organisation will provide advice
and support to families, religious communities
and other organisations.
“It has become ever more apparent
that this is a particular moment in time
and we are a generation of the Church
who have been called to develop a place
its work: evangelization and
catechesis in the mission of the
Church.
Increasingly, the new evangelisation
will be a priority of what
the Centre does.
The Centre provides courses and
programmes (such as the Catholic
Teachers’ Certificate), and
one-off talks and sessions about
different aspects of the Catholic
faith, in various venues throughout
the Archdiocese.
It also responds to requests from
parishes for assistance in organising
catechetical courses.
of belonging for people with disabilities
in our lives and parishes,” said Cristina.
‘I am happy to say that we are well
along the way to this being achieved and
Southwark has become well known for its
work and ministry surrounding the lives
and faith of people with disability.’
Blackheath
Pupils to star
in pop video
Pupils from St Matthew Academy in
Blackheath have appeared in a pop
video for the charity War Child.
A group of students from year one
to seven were selected and feature
on the video ‘Love Makes the World
Go Round’.
The video, which features Yasmin,
Lucien Laviscount, and Ellie Redman.
will be released on the 14th of
February.
Want to meet other
young Catholics in
south West London
SW London 20/30s,
a social group for
young Catholic
adults in southwest
London,
is now in its fifth
year.
The group meets
on the first Saturday
of the month in
a pub in the Wimbledon,
Clapham
and Putney area.
Around 30 people
usually attend.
It also organises
summer trips to the
Epsom Derby and
Wimbledon tennis
championships.
For my information,
e-mail
swlondon2030s@gm
ail.com.
Page 4

The Pilgrim February 2012
Features
Building parish links between
Tunbridge Wells and Cambodia
St Augustine’s parish in Tunbridge
Wells has been twinned with the
parish of The Good Shepherd
in Cambodia since 1997. Sue
Reeves describes how the
project works.
For the last 14 years our parish has
been twinned with the parish of
The Good Shepherd, which consists
of four small villages in Kompong
Thom province.
The initial links with it were
made when the late Bishop
Michael Evans was parish priest.
We wanted to develop a practical
and prayerful friendship with
those whose lives are very different
to our own.
Over the years we have worked
to strengthen our bonds of friendship.
Some parishioners, especially
young people, and clergy have visited
Kompong Thom.
Meanwhile, Fr Viney Nget, the
parish priest of the Good Shepherd,
spent six months with us
learning English.
Since our initial twinning we
have helped to raise money for
several projects in Kompong
Thom, including a new chapel hall,
and a newly restored Young Men’s
Hostel.
Our fundraising events have
included a very successful fashion
evening held by a group of women
in the parish known as ‘the
Madonnas’.
However, rather than just sending
money we also try to keep in
contact with Fr Viney and his
curate Fr Jub through e-mail and
by sending many Christmas and
Easter cards.
In the entrance to St Augustine’s
we have a large notice board dedicated
to life and events in Kompong
Thom.
Later this year, Fr Peter Stodart,
our parish priest, wil make his
fourth visit to Cambodia.
As our links with Kompong Thom
deepen so our friendship has
spread to other parts of the
country.
Fr Franco Legnani, the parish
priest in Kompong Thom back in
1997, is now in Kom Pong Chhnang.
He provides care for mentally
handicapped children and also for
victims of landmines.
It is hoped that some of the
catechists in Kompong Thom who
have a working knowledge of
English will visit St Augustine’s.
Pilgrim Places – Bermondsey
With its regular belly dancing and
jazz nights, Del Aziz restaurant in
Bermondsey Square, off Tower
Bridge Road, is becoming a popular
venue in south-east London.
But at one time more serene activities
took place here. For the
restaurant stands on the site of St
Saviour’s Abbey, one of the largest
monasteries in medieval England.
Thanks to excavation work by
the Museum of London, diners at
Del Aziz can see remains of the
abbey through a glass floor.
The abbey was originally a priory,
founded in 1082 by a group of
monks from the Cluniac monastery
at La Charité sur Loire in France.
A Saxon cross – ‘the rood of
grace’ – found in the Thames
turned the abbey into a place of
pilgrimage. Catherine of Valois,
wife of Henry V, and Elizabeth
Woodville, wife of Edward IV, both
lived at the abbey for a timAfter
King Henry VIII seized the
monastery in 1558, it eventually
ended up in the hands of Sir
Thomas Pope, the founder of
Trinity College, Oxford.
Apart from Del Aziz, there are
other reminders of the abbey.
In the Grange Walk is a part of
the gatehouse with a portion of
the rusted hinge of the monastic
doors.
In 2010 Southwark Council
unveiled a blue plaque to commemorate
the abbey.
Page 5

Behind the scenes The Pilgrim February 2012
A place where our
explore their faith
Catherine Jones, a
member of Southwark
Catholic Youth Services,
explains what St Vincent’s,
the diocesan
residential retreat
centre, in Whitstable,
offers young people
A retreat at St Vincent’s
Centre on the Kent coast
provides young people
time out from the routine
pressures of everyday life
and gives them an opportunity
to reflect on their
lives and to encounter
Christ within the context
of a Christian community.
St Vincent’s can accommodate
groups of up to 35
people.
Our three-day retreat
programmes are designed
for different age groups
between 11-18 and to
meet diverse needs.
During the week, we
welcome school groups,
with usually parish, confirmation
or youth groups
coming at weekends.
Youth ministry staff and
a volunteer peer ministry
team lead our programmes,
working alongside
the visiting chaplains,
catechists, teachers and
youth ministers that
accompany groups.
The retreats are a
unique opportunity for our
young people to build
community, to grow in
their faith and to experience
the joy and energy
of a youthful Church.
The team and staff at
St Vincent’s live as a
Christian community,
providing a strong and
prayerful setting into
which groups are
welcomed.
The peer ministry team
take part in extensive
training at the beginning
of their gap year to help
them explore their own
faith.
This includes Church
teaching and the principles
of youth ministry, as
well as the legal and practical
issues of residential
retreat work.
Through peer education,
friendship and
witness, St Vincent’s aims
to build self-awareness
and self-confidence by
exploring issues relevant
to young people today:
including personal, social,
spiritual and global.
Our programmes make
use of drama, art, film,
music and it to unlock key
themes and engage with
young people in a creative
way.
The team journey
alongside the young
people, guiding them in
games, mealtimes, prayer
and in sharing their
life-stories in a safe and
caring environment.
The high point of the
retreat is the celebration
of the Eucharist, involving
the young people by
means of prayerful preparation,
reflecting on the
Gospel.
On the last morning the
young people affirm each
other in their unique
qualities, helping to build
on their sense of selfworth
as children of God.
Our final liturgy together
encourages the
group to witness to their
faith and to build on
their experience as they
go back to their school or
parish communities.
Young Southwark Pilgrims await the arrival of the Pope for the opening ceremony of World youth day 2011
Page 6

The Pilgrim February 2012
Behind the scenes
young people can
The Peer Ministry team
Growing in faith
My first encounter with St Vincent’s
Centre in Whitstable was
as a new chaplain on retreat with
the other Southwark chaplains.
It wasn’t long before I worked
out how fortunate we were to
have such a resource here in our
diocese. I decided that the
community at St Vincent’s was
something I wanted the young
people in my school community
to experience.
On returning to school, I was
keen to extend our retreat programme
to offer our Year 8 the
opportunity to experience a residential
retreat at St Vincent’s.
The programme that St Vincent’s
offers our young people
is well structured, with a good
balance of prayer; reflection;
discussion; group activities; and
free time.
It allows our young people the
chance to encounter God in the
traditions of the Catholic Church.
I appreciate the opportunity to
have an input in the overall
theme of the retreat. And I am
always grateful for the borrowed
ideas I can share with the rest of
my school community.
The first group of Year 8 students
who went to St Vincent’s
are now in year 12. They remember
that they had an amazing
opportunity to encounter God, to
be themselves and to reflect on
their life and faith.
Julia Ann Byrne, chaplain at
St Gregory’s Catholic Comprehensive
School, Tunbridge Wells
St Vincent’s Centre
Page 7

Features The Pilgrim February 2012
From a core subject to a ‘cor’ subject
South Londoner John Lawson
teaches theology at St Thomas
Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale,
Florida. He argues that
RE need not be the ‘Cinderella
subject’.
How do we turn religious education
from a core subject into a
‘cor’ subjectSadly, even in the
best Catholic schools religious education
isn’t often seen by students
as ‘sexy’ or relevant enough
to take up at A Level.
A major problem as I saw it
when I taught religious studies in
London is that at key stage 3 religion
isn’t taught by specialists
with the all important passion and
knowledge for the subject matter.
My friends in London tell me nothing
much has changed since I left.
We need to be more cognizant
of the importance of building a
solid foundation for religious studies
from day one of year seven.
All too often, religious studies is
viewed as a Cinderella subject –
sadly not because of its beauty –
and as such is taught by teachers
pressed into service by some principals
who assume anyone can
teach religion.
If RE teaching is simply handing
out textbooks and worksheets and
students doing word searches and
crosswords then, of course, anyone
can do it. But that isn’t how
the most important subject in
Catholic schools should be taught.
In truth, very few can teach RE
exceptionally well.
The most attractive feature of
RE to many of our smartest 11-14
year-old students is that at least
it’s an easy A that doesn’t seriously
diminish brain cells that
would be better preserved for
their important subjects – maths,
English, and science – and it looks
good on their reports.
The answer to most test questions
amounts to God loves us
unconditionally and we should love
Him in return.
Students are often red-inked or
browbeaten for describing Sunday
Masses as ‘boring’ and God help
those students who notice that our
Church has made some monumental
errors in the past.
Of course I’m exaggerating, but
those are the responses many
teens most often gave me. I was
once threatened with suspension
from a London school for telling
my A Level students that I couldn’t
find one watertight theological argument
against women priests –
I still can’t.
My current principal here in the
US, Tina Jones, has a simple principle
for her teachers to follow.
She operates an open door policy
and will listen to everything we
have to say.
However, if we are critical of
some aspect of the school’s policies
or procedures then her telling
comeback is, ‘show me a better
way that works.’
Therefore, as I have offered a
few criticisms of religious education,
let me offer helpful suggestions
that might take us in a new
direction.
I do realize that there is a shortage
of specialists – hardly surprising
when so few students study A
Level theology at school and even
fewer take it as a major subject at
University.
But with a little effort, will, and
imagination religion can be taught
as well as other more lauded subjects
on the curriculum.
Above all, we need to identify
the best religion teachers we have
in the diocese and get them into
our schools to share their particular
brand of magic with others.
Do we perhaps have particularly
charismatic teachers who could be
offered a one-year paid ‘sabbatical’
in which he or she could
travel the diocese, charged with a
simple aim: get our religious education
teachers excited about
teaching the most exciting subject
imaginable.
This one-year challenge would
allow for a new teacher every year
so that we could encourage the
emergence of a variety of approaches.
We all know that educational
funding is a perennial
problem, but one second collection
a year would surely cover
most of the expense.
How about inviting our best
practitioners of religious education
to create a forum to share ideas
that really work with their less inspired
colleagues
Could we launch a webpage and
teacher resource books providing
genuinely vibrant lesson plans
and ideas in Catholic religious
studies at all stages of secondary
education
In these ways we could at least
make available to all teachers the
secrets of our finest RE practitioners
– I know they are out there.
I have spent seventeen years of
my teaching life consumed by a
quest to make Jesus Christ live
and breath in my classroom.
How could I not be excited by
helping students to learn and get
excited about the most incredible
person that ever walked this earth
Why creativity is key in the education children
Anne Bamford, director
of education for the archdiocese
of Southwark,
tells Greg Watts why
children need to be
encouraged to develop
their creativity.
“In some schools it seems
to be about adding up how
many A star GCSEs a pupil
has. But what does that
actually mean in the long
run”
Dr Anne Bamford is
sharing her vision with me
of what education should
be about. As the diocese
of Southwark’s new education
boss, with over 170
schools to oversee, she has
a challenging job ahead of
her.
I catch up with her early one morning at
Archbishop’s House before she heads across
the river for a meeting in Westminster and
then to another at St Mary’s University
College in Twickenham.
She breezes in, all smiles and energy. As
she only took up her post in September,
she’s still feeling her way into the job, she
tells me.
“The tendency in education to focus on
exam achievements as being the only measure
of a child’s success at school fails to see
Page 8
a child as spiritual and a
whole person who needs to
develop,” she says.
“If we focus only on qualifications,
it’s easy to manipulate
that system.
“So you can have a child
who appears to have a good
education but who is not really
prepared for what life
has to offer.”
She believes the arts
should play a vital role in
making learning interesting
in schools and helping pupils
engage with subjects.
“What I found when I was
a teacher is was that when
you introduced the arts
even children who were
having trouble learning
started to learn a lot.
“If you look at the development of apps
for mobile phones, it’s a multi-billion pound
industry. But it’s an industry that only
emerged in the last three years.
“There were no school courses and no college
or university courses. There were even
no industry courses. People learned how to
develop apps by sharing knowledge.
“And it was skills of creativity, of collaboration,
connection to other people, experimentation
and play.
These skills are deeper level skills. And
they can be developed in school.
“We have to think about what skills a
child will need to thrive after school. Some
are personal and social, some are academic,
some are ways of thinking and behaving.’
She adds that a study she carried out revealed
that what employers are looking for
in candidates is confidence, collaboration
and communication.
Anne usually visits two or three schools a
week. If head teachers need advice about
the curriculum, staff or other important issues,
they will often contact her.
Much of her work involves taking Government
policy and interpreting that in terms
of the Catholic vision for education and
then sharing it with schools.
“At the moment we are in a period of
considerable change in education. There are
a lot of policies and new ways of working
coming through. We have to be proactive
rather than just being reactive.”
She grew up in Tasmania, Australia.
Although both her parents were teachers,
she initially had no inking of following in
their footsteps.
“I wasn’t particularly good at school.
When I decided I wanted to be a teacher,
that encouraged me to work harder to get
the grades to get into university.”
Her career has been glittering. Prior to
taking up the post in Southwark, she had
been professor of cultural policy and
director of enterprise at University of the
Arts London.
Before that, she had taught at the
University of Technology in Sydney, been a
world scholar for UNESCO and conducted
major national impact and evaluation studies
for several governments, including Denmark,
The Netherlands, Belgium, and Hong
Kong.
In 2002 she received the Australian Institute
for Educational Research, Outstanding
Educational Research Award for 2002.
She is the author of the Wow Factor:
Global research compendium on the impact
of the arts in education.
So why did she leave academia “To put it
quite simply it was actually a calling. I’d
been feeling for a little while, probably
about a year and a half that my work in
academia was taking me further and further
away from what I really wanted to commit
to, which was education and particularly
school education.
“One Sunday I was sitting at Mass in Kew
and I turned over the newsletter and there
was this position advertised. And I thought,
‘This is ideal.”’
Anne became a Catholic as an adult after
becoming disenchanted with the Anglican
Church she grew up in. A mother of four
children, she understands the anxieties
many Catholic parents have about their
children practising their faith.
“Sometimes we worry that teenagers are
not going to Mass. But you’re not quite sure
what kind of experiences they are gathering
that they are then going to draw back on
when they have their own children.”

The Pilgrim February 2012
Features
There is hope for alcoholics
Alcohol addiction can destroy
lives. Alannah Powell meets one
man who has managed to put his
life back together again.
“I went into the pub as a timid 16
year old and came out at thirtynine,”
says Adrian.
He says that his 23-year addiction
to alcohol almost ruined his
life. Now 60, he describes himself
as a recovered alcoholic.
“I came from a loving family
with no history of alcoholism’ he
continues in his gentle Glaswegian
drawl.
He adds that he was born in
Dublin and, although brought up in
Glasgow, he has spent most of his
life in London.
In his early years, he had it all.
“At 15, I was the number one
rugby player for my school and had
a very high academic capability –
I was also very popular with the
girls!”
When he was 16, his dad died
and Adrian suffered a spinal illness.
He says he had a character
defect that gripped him from a
young age. “I had a fear of everything;
from people to places.”
So what is God
really like
John Pridmore
Up to the age of 27 I didn’t
believe in God. I thought God
was 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.
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 claim. Richard Dawkins
represents only one scientific
view; many scientists have no
problem reconciling creation
with a creator.
For example, the account of
creation and Adam and Eve in
the Bible isn’t meant to be
taken literally.
What the story is explaining
is not how and when the world
was created but that there’s a
creator who brought it into
being.
Yet a lot of people nowadays
say they’re not sure whether
they believe in God. It’s become
almost fashionable. When
I was a gangster, I didn’t want
God to be real. If God was real,
that meant I’d be judged on
the things I’d done in my life
and end up in hell.
A man once said to a priest,
“If there’s a God, show me that
he’s real.”
This question threw the
priest because he’d never
really been asked to demonstrate
God in this way before.
So he put a bucket in front of
the man and said: “Do you
believe in mercy”
“What do you mean” asked
the man.
“If someone has really hurt
you and then comes to tell you
how sorry they truly are, would
you forgive them”
“Yes, if they were really sincere
and they begged me,”
replied the man.
“Do you believe in love”
“What do you mean by
love”
“Have you a wife and kids”
“Yes. And I’d die for them.”
“So you do believe in love.”
“Yes.”
“Do you believe in compassion”
“What do you mean by
compassion”
“Well, if a man was lying in
the road after being hit by a
car, would you walk past or
help him”
“Of course, I’d help him,”
answered the man.
“So you believe in mercy,
you believe in love and you
believe in compassion. So fill
that bucket up with mercy,
love and compassion.’
“I can’t,” replied the man.
“Well,” said the priest, “I
can’t show you God either. But
you know God exists because
you know mercy, love and compassion.
That’s what God is.”
I think this story cuts through
to what God’s really about.
He’s not this headmaster-figure
in the sky, watching our every
move to see if we slip up so
that he can punish us. Yet I
meet many people on my
travels who still have this
image of a tyrannical God
engrained into their thinking.
As that priest explained,
God is simply mercy, love and
compassion.
It was this emotional fragmentation
that laid the foundations of
his illness.
“I wanted to be part of the confident
crowd as I gazed around me
in the pub. With my first drink I
felt transformed in every manner;
every fear was taken away. It
freed me.”
Consequently, Adrian became
totally dependant on alcohol by
his early 20s. “Your life transforms
from live to drink, to drink to live.
I needed my medicine to stop the
shakes.”
Yet, despite his drinking, at the
age of 23 he became the buyer of
a large Knightsbridge department
store. He then got involved with
PR and spent four years working in
the Far East.
However, his drinking made it
difficult for him to hold down his
job or a relationship. “I became,
as every alcoholic does, cunning,
baffling and powerful.”
There was no obvious worst
point during his addiction, he says,
as each day was a living hell.
In 1985, seeking to be freed
from his addiction, he joined a sixweek
recovery programme.
“After six weeks I thought I
could handle the drink. I lasted
one hour.”
He spent the next five years
drinking heavily, although he
Picture: Stefano Bezze
claims that he could not drown out
the issues that led him to the
bottle.
“The alcohol stopped working.
It didn’t take away my emotional
pain anymore; I still felt
rejected.”
It was after those five years that
Adrian says his turning point
came. “I was sitting at a bar in
Eastbourne. I lifted my glass,
shaking, and had a flashback to my
first experience of going into a
pub as a 16-year-old boy. At that
point I realised I had never been
part of the confident crowd surrounding
me. Reality hit me.”
He explains that there was still
a seed from the recovery programme
he had been to in 1985,
“There was nowhere else for me
to go. The windmill stopped turning
and hope came into my mind.”
Eventually he became involved
with the Calix Society, an association
of Catholic alcoholics. He now
attends one Calix and three recovery
meetings a week, which he enjoys
for the social aspect as much
as the support network.
Adrian’s advice to anyone struggling
with alcohol addiction is to
talk to people who have been
through the same thing and listen
to them.
Whatever your situation, there is
hope, he insists. “You have to find
the spiritual within you. Look forward
with it and it will lead you.”
www.calixsociety.org
Page 9

Features The Pilgrim February 2012
Bookcase
How to pray the psalms
My favourite book
Mike Guilfoyle, a former probation
officer, and a parishioner of St Mary
Magdalen, Brockley, chooses Life and
Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng,
first published in 1987.
After being imprisoned in 1966 for
falling foul of Chairman Mao’s Red
Guards, Nien Cheng found herself in
a nightmare society where anyone
could find themselves accused of
being a ‘class traitor’ or ‘capitalist
lackey’.
In this climate of surveillance and
suspicion, people were subjected to
endless interrogations, captivity, humiliation,
torture and death.
Even those driven to commit suicide
by their tormentors were
deemed to have carried out a
‘counter-revolutionary’ act.
Cheng’s courageous and luminous
character shines through the pages of
her memoir in the darkest days of
her being an inmate of No 1 Detention
House, Shanghai.
This resulted in her health seriously
deteriorating. So much so that
she lost her teeth.
During most of the six-and-a-half
years of her imprisonment she remained
unaware of the fate of her
only daughter, Meiping, a promising
dancer at the Shanghai Film Studio.
She died at the age of twenty-four
in detention for refusing to denounce
her mother. Cheng only discovered
this after her release in 1973.
Yet her love for China remained
undimmed in spite of her struggles
and suffering.
She settled in Washington DC
where she wrote her deeply moving
testimony, described by the Washington
Post as “one of the foremost
prison diaries of our times”.
A convert to Christianity, Cheng
noted how throughout the years of
her imprisonment she had turned to
God and felt his presence in the
confines of her cell. She died in
2009, aged 94.
In reading her stunning memoir, I
recognised that our salvation lies in
engaging with the ‘now’ of our lives.
And if we can discern the true value
of life in adversity by hearing the call
of the present moment, then we can
discover the grace of God in the
world.
New children’s
biography of
Pope John Paul II
New Malden author Joanna Bogle
has published a biography of Pope
John Paul II for children.
Blessed John Paul the Great
tells the story of his life, stage by
stage, and is illustrated by Kati
Teague.
“Each page tells a separate
story about a stage in his life. It is
aimed at making the life of this
remarkable man accessible to
young children,” said Joanna.
The book is published by
St Paul’s Publishing.
Father Victor Darlington, who teaches
Scripture at St John’s Seminary, Wonersh,
begins a new series exploring how the
psalms can help us to pray.
My mum was a dedicated Catholic who loved
and cared for her six children in the best
possible way. She lived in a rural village in
Ubiaja in Mid-western Nigeria, deprived of
the basic necessities of life.
Even in her poverty, she took the more difficult
option not to remarry after the death
of my dad in 1973, and further committed
her entire life to God.
She would always say, “I am in love with
Jesus, and with Him I can take care of my
children.”
In her last year, when her health was failing,
she struggled to attend daily Mass, and
considered it sinful if she was unable to.
When she died two years ago, in my grief I
was able to relate to some of the lament
psalms. I questioned God bitterly for not
hearing my prayers for my dear mother and
not allowing her to reach her 80th birthday.
It took me a while to realize that God did
answer my prayers, in a different way. He
called my mum home, because she always
prayed not to be debilitated by sickness.
She always told me that when she dies she
would be in a better place where she can intercede
for us better. I recall how she
warned me particularly not to cry, and mourn
without hope, but to always say Masses for
her.
I just could not accept these words at the
time. Only now I can look back with gratitude
to God for truly answering her prayer
and granting her wish.
Although, I still miss her warmth, love and
reassuring words of faith. I believe she is
with God and, like the psalmist; I will praise
God for my mum, all my life long.
The Hebrew word for the psalms is
Tehillim, meaning ‘praises’. The book of
Psalms contains some of the most beautiful
passages in the Bible.
Written in Judah and Israel over a period
of 800 years, after the Exodus in 1300 BC,
the psalms powerfully express faith, hope,
and speak on behalf of the down-trodden and
oppressed in society.
Seventy-four of them are believed to be
the work of David, twelve others by his son
Solomon, and the rest by professional musicians.
Written in poetic forms, many of the
psalms affirm and express a range of human
experiences: joy and praise of God’s goodness;
sorrow and lament; contrition; sickness;
and misfortune in life.
Even in these challenging situations, the
note of trust and confidence in God’s goodness
shines through.
The psalms express a practical spirituality
of the Jewish people, as a chosen people.
They have a personal relationship with Yahweh.
God is ‘Abba’, ever caring and loving
and out of His love
When I was growing up, we were not allowed
to have a bible, so praying the psalms
was completely out of reach. The Psalter was
primarily for the ordained ministers and religious.
Today in many churches parishioners
gather for morning prayers before Mass to
pray the psalms.
The Church now encourages all Christians
to pray the psalms as a way of identifying
with our common human origin. We are God’s
chosen people, like the Israelites, and we
face the same challenges in life.
‘Jesus’ to give talk in Dover
Actor James Burke-Dunsmore
will be talking in
Dover about his experience
of playing Jesus in theatre,
TV and radio.
James’ performances
have included The Life of
Christ at Wintershall in
Surrey and The Passion of
Jesus in Trafalgar Square.
He also runs workshops
for both children and
adults to explore the
teachings of Jesus through
theatre.
His talk will be at 7 pm
on February 21 at The
Carmel Centre at St
Edmunds Catholic School,
Old Charlton Road, Dover.
So when we pray the psalms, we pray for
ourselves, we hear our voice and our own
story as it unfolds in line with the voice of
others who lived before us and those still
alive experiencing the ups and downs of life,
yet trusting in God’s goodness and deliverance.
As Christians, our purpose in life is to
praise God and to affirm our faith in Him at
all times. We do this always through the
sacraments, and through our personal life of
prayer and praise.
Praise is totally God-centred, and the
psalms of praise can be effective in accomplishing
this. People often sang them, prayed
them in the fields, or at home. And these
prayers of praise over the centuries brought
consolation and courage to generations of
Christians.
In praying the psalms, we recognise and
accept our own story; we acknowledge the
reality of life and the need to remain faithful
to God.
In the months ahead, I shall take some
specific psalms and relate them to our
experiences.
For those experiencing joy, for those in
grief and sorrow, for those who are discouraged
in life, you are not alone.
Turn to the psalms, praise and challenge
God with your situation, and see light again
at the end of the tunnel.
Page 10

The Pilgrim February 2012
Iron
power
By Maria Jerez
School days: Christian Furr
Feature
When I was growing up in Mexico,
my mother asked me one
day when I was ten to iron my
father’s handkerchiefs.
She then told me the story of
a nun who didn’t enjoy ironing.
So she offered up each item she
ironed to our Lord in order to
save souls from Purgatory.
At the end of her life she
opened the window and saw
hundreds of white doves flying
past the convent. And she heard
the voice of God say that each
of the doves represented a soul
she had taken up to Heaven by
offering her work.
After hearing this story, I
found it a joy to iron each handkerchief.
And I would always remember
that nun, thinking to
myself why such a fuss Ironing
is actually quite relaxing.
Years later, when I went on an
ecumenical retreat at a Worth
Abbey, I found myself doing
some ironing. It gave me time to
reflect on my life.
It was then when I realized
how housework could be so rewarding.
In fact, it can actually
be therapy.
I found myself wondering why
most cleaning ladies, who often
work to send money back home
to their family, never need to
go to the psychiatrist. Perhaps
ironing is helping them to keep
them calm.
Recently I met the wife of a
cousin of mine who was moving
to South America because her
husband had been asked to
become director of a company
there.
She had never lived abroad
before and was worried that
she would get depressed living
in a different country. “I’ll
phone you if I feel down,” she
said.
“First iron, then clean the
toilet and then call me if
you have any time left to get
depressed,” I joked.
I hope you will benefit from
the therapy of ironing, And if
this isn’t your thing, then you
could simply count all the doves
flying past.
God Bless You!
Name: Christian Furr
Home: Ham, near Richmond upon Thames
Job: Artist, painter
School: St Anselms College, Birkenhead
Favourite subject: Art
Worst subject: Geography
Favourite teacher:
Mr Bleese, an old school, thin, smartly
dressed English teacher with associated
trappings: tweed ajacket, Brylcreemed
hair, beard, glasses and dishing out of detention,
which he had a habit of stating in
a particularly cool manner.
Favourite school dinner: Can’t say I had
a favourite, as they were all pretty
disgusting.
Guilty secret: Too many to mention!
What lessons about life did you learn:
Stand fast to your own beliefs and
don’t follow the masses.
What do you wish you had been told:
The Grand National race results for 1982
in 1981.
What did you do immediately after
school: An art foundation course in
Withens Lane, Wallasey, where I painted
‘Liverpool Schoolyard’ and opened my mind
to different creative possibilities.
If you could study any subject, what
would it be: Finance – real life economics.
Monsignor John Elliot spent
28 years as parish priest of St
James’, Petts Wood, where
he celebrated Mass with his
Pyrenean mountain dogs
sitting on the sanctuary.
He was born in Camberwell on
4th June 1931. After attending
the Vaughan School, he went to
the English College in Valladolid,
Spain, to study for the priesthood.
Following his ordination at The
Assumption of Our Lady, Englefield
Green, in 1959, he was
appointed to Our Lady of the
Obituary – Mgr John Elliot
Rosary, Brixton, where he served
for four years.
After a brief spell at St Paul’s,
Dover, he moved to the Church
of the Most Holy Trinity in
Bermondsey.
He was also appointed assistant
private secretary at Archbishop’s
House and then chaplain to the
Little Sisters of the Poor in Vauxhall.
In 1969 he became private
secretary to Archbishop Cyril
Cowderoy and in 1974 was made
a Papal Chaplain by Pope Paul VI,
with the title Monsignor.
Monsignor John remained with
Archbishop Cowderoy until his
death in 1976.
In 1978, after almost 15 years
in the Diocesan Curia, he was
appointed parish priest of
St James’ Church, Petts Wood,
where he spent the next
28 years.
He had a great love for the
parish in Petts Wood, especially
for the folk choir he helped to
begin.
He visited St James’ school
every day and even took part in
one of the annual plays.
While he could be a little blunt
in his manner, as one of his
successors as private secretary
wrote: “Beneath that bluff exterior,
there lies a heart of gold.”
He never asked people to do
anything he wouldn’t do himself,
whether decorating or arranging
flowers.
He loved cooking and was
known for his marmalade and
damson jam.
During his time in Petts Wood
he kept a succession of Pyrenean
mountain dogs. They accompanied
him everywhere, even onto
the sanctuary.
Monsignor John died on 25th
December, aged 80 years, in the
53rd year of his priesthood.
Page 11

The Pilgrim February 2012
Focus on faith
A life of ministry on the Medway
Life on the ocean waves: Pictured with seafarers
By Greg Watts
A few years ago Daniel Mulcahy
spent his time catching villains in
Kent. But today he carries phone
cards and rosaries instead of a
truncheon and handcuffs.
Daniel is an Apostleship of the
Sea chaplain, serving the Medway
ports of Sheerness, Ridham Dock,
Thamesport, Chatham and
Rochester, along with Dover.
“A lot of my work is pretty routine,”
he says. “You go on board
and say hello to the crew. They
know exactly who you are. They
might not be Catholic, but they
know you are there for them.
“My ministry is very practical.
Seafarers might ask if I can take
them shopping or help them contact
home. Or they might want a
prayer card or rosary, or to talk to
you about something in their life.
“In Dover, I focus on the three
banana ships that come in each
week and some of the cruise ships
during the cruise season. I think
this year there’s been about 160.
My main ministry is on the Medway.”
When he goes on board a ship,
he will always ask the crew if any
of them want a lift to the local
shops. Many ask to go to Argos or
Tesco.
The information sheet he gives
to seafarers includes the security
code to Stella Maris, a small centre
in Sheerness docks. It contains
a payphone, pool table, coffee
machine and a selection of paperback
books and videos. But for
those who have laptops the main
attraction is the free wi-fi facility.
Daniel is assisted by a team of
volunteer ship visitors from local
parishes and he also works with
the Mission to Seafarers chaplain.
Many seafarers, especially those
from the Philippines and India, go
to sea because it”s the only way
they can support their family. It”s
estimated that 60 per cent of
seafarers are Catholic.
There are still very few women
seafarers. Daniel says he gets concerned
if he discovers a lone female
on a ship. “I often wonder if
they are being well looked after.
You hear whispers about some of
the cruise ships.”
But taking to the waves is far
from romantic. It often means
working long hours for low pay
and living in cramped accommodation.
Nowadays even a large
container ship is unlikely to have a
crew of more than twenty.
Daniel became a port chaplain
in 2004 following twenty-seven
years as a police officer. Eight of
those were spent as a detective in
the fraud squad.
“I loved working in fraud. All
the villains had all the social
graces, so there was no confrontation.
They were arrested by
appointment.”
He has been a permanent deacon
since 1994, attached to the
parish of Our Lady Immaculate in
Whitstable.
If seafarers ask for Mass to be
said on board, he contacts one of
the priests in the Chatham deanery
that have agreed to help out.
Masses have to be short and,
because it might be months before
seafarers see a priest again,
they don”t always follow the
liturgical calendar.
“But if the captain isn’t interested,
Mass won”t happen. When
the captain and all the crew are
Philippino, the chances are that
they will want Mass on board,”
he explains.
If seafarers raise issues about
their pay or conditions on board,
he will often seek the advice of
the International Transport Workers
Federation, the seafarers’
union.
“Some of the isolated jetties
and berths attract the older ships.
Often these are not terribly well
maintained. If you go on board a
ship that is an old rust bucket, you
can bet your bottom dollar that
the crew are not going to be well
looked after.”
Seafarers are sometimes injured
or taken ill on a ship, he says. “I
once went to visit a Russian seafarer
who was in hospital in
Margate. He had been there for a
couple of days and no one had
spoken to him because of the language
problem. So I arranged for
an interpreting service we use to
help.”
On rare occasions ships are arrested,
he adds. “We had one ship
detained for a fortnight. The crew
were quite happy because they
were able to go to Stella Maris and
use the free wi-fi. Some were
there until midnight talking to
their families.”
Chaplaincy role:
Daniel Mulcahy
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