Issue 75 - The Pilgrim - September 2018 - The newspaper of the Archdiocese of Southwark

Issue 75 October 2018
Can Catholics
be freemasons?
An amazing
eucharistic
congress
Kent’s
medieval
history
Page 5 Pages 6 &7
Page 10
Listening to young Catholics
By John Toryusen, director,
Southwark Catholic Youth Service
Taking place this month in Rome is
the synod: “Young People, The Faith
and Vocational Discernment.”
It was with great excitement and
hope that many of us working with
young people received news of the
synod, announced in January 2017
by Pope Francis.
According to the synod
preparation document, the Church
will “examine herself on how she
can lead young people to recognise
and accept the call to the fullness
of life and love, and to ask young
people to help her in identifying the
most effective way to announce the
good news today.”
But, what is a synod? The word
synod comes from the Greek and
can be translated as “together on
the road.” Pope Paul VI established
the first synod of bishops in 1965
after the Second Vatican Council.
Bishops from across the world
gather to assist the pope by
discussing and sharing on important
current issues. The synod this month
is an ordinary general assembly,
exploring a theme which is for the
good of the whole Church.
As part of the synod preparation
young people were asked to feed
into the dialogue through
questionnaires and both local and
international gatherings.
In Southwark diocese Archbishop
Peter encouraged parishes to make
time to gather, to listen and to
facilitate conversations with young
people: they were invited to share
their joys and struggles, their hopes
and fears. We want to continue this
process by encouraging parishes to
provide forums where young people
can be open and honest in sharing
their experiences.
The Church is opening up dialogue
with young people to become more
aware of the realities of their lives,
their desires and concerns.
The working document for the
synod, Instrumentum Laboris, begins
by saying that taking care of young
people “is not an optional work for
the Church, but a substantial part of
its vocation and its mission in history.”
As parishes and as a diocese, Pope
Francis is challenging us to move out
of our comfort zones and to become
more attuned to the action of the
Spirit. Through discernment we can
become more open to new things,
with the courage to move outwards
and to resist “the temptation of
reducing what is new to what we
already know,” as Instrumentum
Laboris says.
Together, as a diocese, may we
actively seek ways to engage and
accompany our young people,
helping to provide an environment
for them to encounter Christ.
Please keep Pope Francis, the
synod, our Church and all young
people in your prayers.
See page 2, Pope Francis speaks
to young people in Lithuania.

Editorial
The Pilgrim October 2018
Gustav Mahler.
Death can teach us about life
By Bishop Paul Hendricks
I recently attended the funeral of Fr Philip
Mathias, where Fr John O’Connor was the
preacher and spoke very movingly of a
performance of Mahler’s Second Symphony,
which they once attended.
Fr Philip had said, what a good basis this
work, known as “The Resurrection”, would
be for a funeral homily. Mahler himself
wrote that he imagined standing by the
coffin of a well-loved friend. Thoughts pass
through his mind. What is life? Does it have
a meaning? What follows?
Then a memory flashes across his mind,
a glimpse of shared happiness long ago.
Next, his thoughts return to the tangled,
contradictory world around us, and
everything seems crazy and meaningless.
Then come the first words in the
symphony, the voice of faith: “I am from
God and will return to God. The dear God
will give me a light, will light me to
eternal blessed life!”
The complex and majestic finale gives a
vision of the Last Judgement. The dead are
raised from their graves, with fear and
trembling at the approach of the Eternal
Judge.
But then we hear the gentle sound of the
The Archdiocese of Southwark
Archbishop Peter Smith
020 7928-2495
archbishop@rcsouthwark.co.uk
www.rcsouthwark.co.uk
Area bishops
Episcopal vicar for Kent
Bishop Paul Mason
01732 845486
bishoppaulmason@gmail.com
South-West London
Bishop Paul Hendricks
020 8643 8007
bishop.hendricks@gmail.com
heavenly chorus. “Believe, you were not
born in vain … Nothing is lost … what you
have loved, what you have fought for …
What perished must rise again … In love’s
fierce striving, I shall soar upwards to the
light to which no eye has soared … What
you have fought for shall lead you to God.”
When I first heard this extraordinary
work, I found myself comparing it with
Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, based on
the poem of Blessed John Henry Newman.
(The best-known parts of this would be the
hymns Praise to the Holiest in the Height
and Firmly I Believe and Truly.)
The comparison reminded me of
something I’d read, about the difference
between the Gothic and Baroque styles of
church architecture. Baroque churches are
detailed, spelling out the mysteries of
faith with beautiful paintings and mosaics.
Gothic style could be seen as more
suggestive and symbolic, leading our
thoughts to God with their soaring arches
and light coming in from high-up windows.
Mahler’s and Elgar’s works are both
highly poetic and (for me) truly inspiring,
but with this difference. The Dream,
though imaginative, is in the form of a
more literal description, more Baroque
than Gothic in that sense.
South-East London
Bishop Patrick Lynch
020 8297 6540
bishoplynch7@btinternet.com
The Pilgrim,
Archbishop’s House
150 St George’s Road
London SE1 6HX
Editor: Greg Watts
pilgrim@rcaos.org.uk
0208 776 9250
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Mahler said of his first two symphonies,
that they contain “nothing except the
complete substance of my whole life”.
Similarly, Elgar famously wrote at the end
of his manuscript of The Dream, “This is
the best of me”.
They were both engaging with the
mystery of death, which is so fundamental
to our whole existence. In some ways it
casts a shadow over our life, because (as
far as we can see in terms of this world) it
is the end of everything.
For many, particularly for atheist
thinkers, it makes life meaningless and
absurd. But in a strange way, it can give a
direction and a meaning to life. If my
earthly life lasted forever, no decision
would be final.
If I chose to explore one path in my
journey through life, I could always go
back one day and explore another one.
Because my life is limited, I cannot do
this. I have to make a choice and live with
the consequences, gradually defining who I
am, through the decisions I take.
Perhaps that explains why so many of
the great works of religious music are in
the form of the Requiem Mass, because in
contemplating death, we touch on the
whole meaning of our life.
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Life is not a
video game
An edited extract from an address
Pope Francis gave to young people
outside the cathedral in Vilnius, during
his visit to Lithuania last month
I ask myself: how was it that God’s grace was
poured out on you? Not from the air, not magically;
there is no magic wand for life. This happened
through persons whose paths crossed your lives,
good people who nourished you by their experience
of faith. There are always people in life who give us
a hand to help us pick ourselves up.
So don’t let the world make you believe that it is
better to do everything on your own. On your own,
you never get there. Yes, you can manage to arrive
at success in your life, but without love, without
companions, without belonging to a people, without
that beautiful experience of taking risks together.
You can’t move forward on your own. Don’t yield
to the temptation of getting caught up in yourself,
only looking after yourself, being tempted to
become selfish or superficial in the face of sorrow,
difficulty or temporary success. Let us say once
again, “Whatever happens to others happens to
me”.
Let us swim against the current of that
individualism which isolates us, makes us egocentric
and makes us become vain, concerned only for our
image and our own well-being. Concerned with our
image, with how we look.
Life in front of the mirror is no good, it is no
good. On the other hand, life is beautiful with
others, in our families, with friends, with the
struggles of my people… That’s how life is beautiful!
If life were a theatre piece or a video game, it
would be limited to a precise time, and have a
beginning and an end, when the curtain falls or one
team wins the game. But life measures time
differently, not with the time of a theatre piece or a
video game; it follows God’s heartbeat.
Sometimes it passes quickly, while at other times
it goes slowly. We are challenged to take new paths;
things change. We grow indecisive mostly out of fear
that the curtain will fall, or that the stopwatch will
eliminate us from the game or prevent us from
advancing.
But life always involves moving forward, life
moves forward, it does not stand still; life always
involves moving forward, seeking the right way
without being afraid to retrace our steps if we make
a mistake.
The most dangerous thing is to confuse the path
with a maze that keeps us wandering in circles
without ever making real progress. Please, as young
people, don’t let yourselves get trapped in a maze,
but follow a path that leads to the future. No
mazes; only move forward!
Pope Francis arriving at the cathedral in Vilnius.
We want your news! Email your stories to
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Page 2

The Pilgrim October 2018
Installation of Bishop Paul as Bishop of the Forces
Bishop Paul Mason has been
installed as Bishop of the Forces
in the Cathedral Church of Saint
Michael and St George in
Aldershot.
Among those attending the
Mass were priests of Southwark
diocese, clergy of other
denominations, military
personnel, and a children’s choir
from Kent, where Bishop Paul
had been auxiliary bishop since
2016.
Archbishop Peter presented
Bishop Paul with a crozier which
featured the arms of the first
Catholic military bishop, Bishop
William Keatinge, who was
appointed in 1917.
During his homily, Bishop Paul
recalled that whilst serving as a
hospital chaplain at Guy’s and St
Thomas’s, many of the patients
he visited had explained that
their illness was the best thing
that had happened to them.
He said that many patients
felt it was a moment of
reckoning which had finally
A group of five Cafod
volunteers have delivered a
petition to Downing Street
demanding that the rights of
refugees and migrants are
put at the heart of
agreements being made at
the UN General Assembly in
New York.
The delegation as part of
the Share the Journey
campaign, launched by Pope
Francis last year. The
campaign is being led by
Catholic charities, Cafod and
Caritas Social Action
Network.
As well as signing the
petition, over 40,000
supporters have walked more
than 100,000 miles to stand
in solidarity with refugees
and migrants facing the
challenges of fleeing their
homes due to persecution,
war and natural disaster.
Eleanor Bowman, who was
one of the campaigners who
handed the petition over,
said: “I hope that the
Government will take action
on our petition. It’s
important to care about
issues as the refugee crisis.”
allowed them to wake up out of
their comfort zone.
As the Bishop of the Forces,
Bishop Paul will oversee the
Catholic chaplains who serve with
the Army, Royal Navy, and RAF,
both here in the UK and overseas.
The Catholic Bishopric of the
Forces differs from any other
diocese in that it is not aligned
along geographical boundaries
but encompasses anywhere in
the world that United Kingdom
military personnel are serving or
deployed.
A welcome
in Woolwich
St Peter’s Church in Woolwich is
seeking volunteers to welcome
visitors.
The church was recently restored
with the help of £250,000 Heritage
Lottery funding, and one of the
requirements is that it is open to the
general public during certain
afternoons each week.
The main buildings were designed
by the famous Pugin family: the
church by A.W. Pugin in 1843, and
Pugin Place (originally a school) by
E.W. Pugin in 1858.
Cafod supporters fighting for refugee rights
News
Battersea celebration
To celebrate its 125th anniversary, Sacred Heart
church in Battersea invited St Mary’s Anglican
church to join its parish mission.
Led by Father Roy Shelly of St Joseph of
Spreckels in the Diocese of Monterey in
California, the mission included talks on the
Eucharist, reading in church, and a Taize service.
In addition, an ecumenical choral Evensong was
held St Mary’s, and Bishop Paul Hendricks and
The Right Reverend Richard Cheetham, the
Anglican Bishop of Kingston, took part in a
discussion in Sacred Heart.
Sacred Heart church began life as a corrugated
iron chapel in 1875 with Fr Patrick McKenna its
first priest. In 1887 the Salesians took over the
chapel. A new church was built to replace the
chapel. It was consecrated in 1893 by Cardinal
Giovanni Cagliero, the first Salesian cardinal.
Eltham school expansion
St Thomas More Catholic Comprehensive School in
Eltham is consulting parents about a possible
expansion.
It is considering increasing the forms of entry
from four to five, which would increase the
number of pupils from 620 to 750.
St Thomas More was recently named as being in
the top one per cent of schools in England and
Wales by achievement.
Any expansion depends on securing funding
from the Education Funding Agency.
The school has employed an architect to come
up with a design for a new two-storey building.
There would be no demolition of the original
school building.
Kent pilgrim festival
Kent’s pilgrimage traditions were celebrated at
the North Downs Way Pilgrims’ Festival in Wye.
The event included talks, music, workshops, and
a beer festival. There was also a walk to Wye
from the shrine of St Jude in Faversham.
Rejection of buffer zones welcomed
Bishop John Sherrington has welcomed the Home
Office’s decision to not introduce buffer zones
outside abortion clinics in England and Wales.
Bishop Sherrington, who is responsible for the
Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales Day for
Life, commented: "We believe that in a
democratic society the freedom to protest and
express one’s opinion is always to be considered
in its relationship to the common good, a set of
relationships which enable individuals and groups
to flourish in society.
“It should not be necessary to limit the
freedom of individuals or groups to express
opinions except when they could cause grave
harm to others or a threat to public order.
"The freedom to assemble and express concern
for both the good of the mother and the unborn
person is an aspect of the furthering of the common
good which involves the care for the unborn,
whom we believe must be protected from harm.
"We recognise that there are members of the
public, often associated with churches, who
gather peacefully to pray outside abortion clinics
and witness to the good of human life in a
dignified way. It is an unacceptable situation if
any people harass or intimidate women visiting
clinics, even if such situations are rare.
“It is clearly not the case that all action is of
this nature, and the distinctions between persons
and groups should be examined further. There is
legislation by which those who coerce, threaten or
intimidate others can be charged or prosecuted.”
Death of congress priest
The funeral of Father John Mulligan was held at
St Teresa of the Child Jesus in Morden.
As well as being parish priest of St Teresa’s,
Father John was also the diocesan co-ordinator
for the Adoremus Eucharistic congress held in
Liverpool. Archbishop Peter was among those at
the congress who paid tributes to him.
Page 3

News
Students learn
about diplomacy
Students at Christ the King
College in Lewisham heard
about what it’s like to be a
diplomat from Dame Nicola
Brewer (pictured).
Dame Brewer explained to
students how she came to be
British High Commissioner to
South Africa, Lesotho and
Swaziland from 2009 to 2013.
She visited the college to
launch the annual external
speaker programme. She also
spoke about her role as viceprovost
(international) at
University College, London, and
her work on women’s rights and
gender equality.
Simon Spearman, principal of
Christ the King: Emmanuel,
said: “Dame Nicola Brewer has
got our External Speaker
Programme off to a brilliant
start. She is one of many highprofile
visitors from the worlds
Page 4
of academia, politics, and
industry who will be coming into
our colleges over the next few
months.
“Our students gain a great
deal from hearing these
inspirational, high-achieving
individuals speak about their
own education and career
paths.”
Film recalls Pope John Paul
II’s 1979 visit to Ireland
A documentary film about St
Pope John Paul II’s visit to
Ireland in 1979 has been
released.
A Plea For Peace, directed by
David Naglieri and narrated by
The Passion Of The Christ star
Jim Caviezel, features
interviews with Seamus Mallon,
Martin Mansergh, Rev Harold
Good, Lord David Alton and
former IRA bomber Shane Paul
O’Doherty.
History was made in
September 1979, when St John
Paul II became the first pope to
Pilgrims heading to Faversham
Hundreds of pilgrims are
expected to descend on
Faversham at the end of the
month to celebrate the feast
day of St Jude.
The national shrine of St Jude
at the church Our Lady of Mount
Carmel, which is run by the
Carmelites, will be hosting
celebrations on Saturday 27th
and Sunday 28th October. These
will include Mass, the blessing
of oil, and anointing.
visit Ireland.
The film focuses on the pope’s
famous appeal in Drogheda: “On
my knees I beg you to turn away
from the paths of violence and
return to the ways of peace,” in
front of a quarter a million
people, and argues this sowed
the earliest seeds of peace.
Mr Naglieri said the filmmakers
discovered handwritten
letters from Father Alec Reid to
John Hume, which directly
quoted the papal message.
“Through researching, at first
we found a lot of cynicism –
St Jude, one of the twelve
apostles, is the patron saint of
hopeless cases.
The shrine, which is beneath
the church, was built in 1955.
Many pilgrims light a candle or
leave petitions in a box in front
of the fifteenth century wooden
statue of St Jude. His
international appeal can be
seen from the notes and photos
pinned to a notice board.
www.shrineofstjude.org
New Catholic
degrees
St Mary’s University in
Twickenham is launching a new
MA degree in Catholic social
teaching, which will be the first
of its kind in the UK.
Topics covered will include
the basic principles and history
of the tradition, the various
ways in which social teaching
has been applied to specific
situations. Issues explored will
include the theologies of
liberation, the role of Catholic
charities, and market and
business ethics.
The first year’s two modules
will be taught in central London
on Tuesday evenings and an
inspiring list of lecturers have
been engaged to deliver this
programme.
Also a BA course in new
evangelisation is available at
The School of the Annunciation
in Buckfast Abbey, validated by
St Mary’s University.
people said the violence
continued for two decades after
the visit, and superficially it
didn’t have much effect – but
for us it was a lot of peeling the
onion,” he said.
The course will cover a
variety of modules such as
reflective practice, technology,
relationship of media and life
issues. Its focus will be look at a
variety of matters that the
Church is currently facing and
on preparing people to engage
with the new evangelisation.
For further information, visit
www.stmarys.ac.uk or
www.sota-edu.com
“The thesis is not that the
Good Friday Agreement
wouldn’t have happened if he
didn’t come, but we’re tracing
the ripple effects of the pope’s
visit.”
From Spain to Tonbridge
Corpus Christi church in
Tonbridge have a brand-new
reredos thanks to a company in
Spain.
Archbishop Peter Smith
blessed the new altar piece
during a Mass.
Parish priest Fr Peter Murphy
hired Granda Liturgical Arts in
Madrid to transform the main
wall.
It created a large frame which
envelops the new scene of
Calvary complete with statues
of Our Lady and St John at the
foot of the wooden Crucifix
already in place. Above it a
figure of the Holy Spirit on
golden rays.
Granda Liturgical Arts has its
own workshops and
manufactures everything from
tabernacles and candlesticks to
statues and vestments.
The Pilgrim October 2018
Academic Mass
Archbishop Peter celebrated the annual Mass at
St George’s Cathedral to mark the beginning of
the academic year.
The congregation was made up of students,
teachers, chaplains, governors, and others
involved in education in the diocese.
Archbishop Peter spoke about the importance
of Catholic education that provided the
opportunity of developing the whole person.
School promotes walking
St Mary’s Catholic Primary School in Greenwich
has been approved by Transport for London’s
STARS scheme.
The scheme aims to reduce traffic congestion,
improve road safety and health and wellbeing.
Last year, St Mary’s participated in Walk on
Wednesdays, which encouraged all children to
travel to school sustainably, actively,
responsibly, and safely by championing walking,
scooting and cycling.
The theme for this year is the seasons and pupils
have the opportunity to collect 11 badges. Every
week, class teachers will log how the children
came to school and at the end of each month,
the badges will be distributed to those who have
walked or actively travelled in that given month.
Learning about coding
Year 7 students at Ursuline High School in
Wimbledon learned all about coding from the
experts.
Coders from Wandsworth City Learning Centre
and technology professionals from Goldman
Sachs worked with students to create a digital
media campaign called earthquake rescue.
Students had to create an autonomous robot
that could search though damaged buildings
looking for victims of earthquakes.
Working as coders, app designers,
photographers and film makers to develop a
product, they presented back to each other at
the end of the day.
They also created a website using Google sites
that included videos and photos of the
production process, interviews with the scientists
creating the prototype, and explanations and
images of why the robot is needed.
Dusk walk
Depaul UK is inviting parishioners to sign up for
its “Dusk Walk”, which aims to raise money to
support its work with homeless young people.
The walk takes place on 12th October,
beginning in Bermondsey, stopping at St William
of York Church in Forest Hill, and finishing at St
Paul’s Church, Beckenham.
For further details, contact email:
marie-claire.acton@depaulcharity.org.uk, or
phone 020 7939-1279.
Cafod volunteers needed
Cafod is seeking volunteers to talk to young
people about how they live their faith in action.
Cafod education volunteers go into schools to
talk about Cafod’s work in reaching to those
most in need because of poverty, famine or war.
They talk about how our faith supports such
work. They work closely with teachers, priests
and catechists.
For more information, phone 020 8466-9901,
or email southwark@cafod.org.uk
Young artist
Edelle Gill, a pupil at St Gregory’s Catholic
School in Tunbridge Wells will have one of her
drawings included in the Society of Graphic and
Fine Art Draw 18 exhibition at the Menier Gallery
near London Bridge. She will be the youngest
exhibitor.

The Pilgrim October 2018
Feature
Why Catholics can’t be freemasons
Fr Ashley Beck
Some readers may be aware that
last year celebrations took place to
mark the 300th anniversary of the
foundation of freemasonry in
England.
We all know that historically
freemasonry has been hostile to the
Catholic Church. For example, in
the Bromley deanery of Bromley
the Catholic folk memory is of
negative planning permission
decisions and hostility to Catholic
education because of the strength
of freemasonry in the (usually) Tory
council.
However, in the late 1970s
confusion grew in English speaking
countries because Catholics were
sometimes permitted to become
masons if local lodges were not to
be anti-Catholic.
This had been sought by Cardinal
Heenan and some US Catholic
bishops. But in 1983 this permission
was universally revoked by Cardinal
Ratzinger, with the approval of St
John Paul II, at the time the new
Code of Canon Law appeared. A
document made it clear that
Catholics who were masons were in
a state of grave sin and could not
receive Holy Communion: local
bishops could not dispense from
this.
The Church makes no distinction
between freemasonry in Englishspeaking
countries (“Grand Lodge”)
and freemasonry in most of
continental Europe and Latin
America (“Grand Orient”). The
The Pilgrim is now online, making it possible to
read all the editions since it was launched in
2011.
To view it, visit the diocesan website and click
on the link on the left hand side of the page.
www.rcsouthwark.co.uk
alleged difference is that Grand
Lodge requires of members’ belief
in a “Supreme Being”, whereas
Grand Orient is avowedly atheistic.
Grand Lodge masons point to
Anglicans and Protestants,
including clergy, who are among
their number. The distinction is
irrelevant: anyone can say they
believe in God or a Supreme Being.
Cardinal Ratzinger’s document
does not seem to have been as
widely disseminated as one might
expect. In the UK and the USA, a lot
of Catholics think it is acceptable
for them to be masons, and they
seem to have so advised by priests
and even in some cases bishops.
Twelve years ago I was asked by
the Catholic Truth Society to write
a booklet (Freemasonry and the
Christian Faith, rev. ed. 2016,
available from www.ctsbooks.org)
explaining why Catholics cannot be
masons. I outlined three theological
reasons, drawing on the texts and
religious rituals (for it is clearly a
religion) which masons use.
First, masons use bowdlerised
versions of standard Christian
prayers, excising the name of Our
Lord (e.g. the Anglican “collect for
purity”). For Jesus to be removed
in this way is surely blasphemous:
he cannot be an “added extra”.
This is not like Christians
sometimes praying with members
of other world faiths on special
occasions: here the official texts
alter Christian practice.
Secondly the lectures in masonic
ceremonies propose a vision of the
mason’s moral life and progress
which is wholly about his own
efforts. He is expected to follow
basic standards of morality (never
defined except in the vaguest
terms) – God’s grace is absent.
He is a “self-made man” (which
is why most masons are right wing);
he doesn’t need God. This is at
odds with Christian teaching about
grace expounded by St Augustine of
Hippo.
The third reason is to do with
moral theology. At various stages of
initiation, the candidate is
expected to swear that he will not
divulge the secrets of masonic
rituals (now widely known), before
he is told what they are.
Although in this country the
penalties mentioned in the oaths
have been removed they are not
the problem: Catholic moral
theology forbids taking a “vain”
oath, that is, swearing concerning
things which you haven’t been told.
There are other issues:
freemasonry’s influence in society,
its indifference to many aspects of
morality and its attitude towards
women. It is a religion (although
this is denied), a religion distinct
from Christianity.
It is strong in the territory of our
archdiocese, particularly in
suburban south London and Kent,
where lodges have given generously
to Rochester Cathedral. Some
Catholics and even clergy don’t
know of what happened in 1983,
and there are even cases of masons
offering themselves for ordination.
Let’s be clear: if you are a mason
and a Catholic you should not
receive Holy Communion until you
have been to Confession – no priest
can dispense you from the
prohibition.
You must resign your masonic
membership straightaway. If you
wish to contact me for further
advice please email me at
ashleybeck88@hotmail.com or
phone me on 07769-214903.
Page 5

Feature
The Pilgrim October 2018
Bishop
Robert
Barron
An amazing congress in Liverpool!
By Joanna Bogle
Friday, September 7th
We – myself and fellow pilgrim Sara
de Nordwall – were sent on our way
to Adoremus, the eucharistic
congress, with a blessing from the
parish priest at the Church of the
Most Precious Blood at London
Bridge.
Today happened to be my
birthday, and so I had invited friends
to a pilgrim birthday tea, and this
concluded with prosecco, the
pilgrim blessing, and then the short
walk to the Tube, and on to Euston.
Liverpool: city lights and the big
landmarks, including the
Metropolitan Cathedral. The
Congress proper begins tomorrow
with Mass there.
Today was dedicated to a
symposium with speakers exploring,
among other things, the Eucharist in
the life of the Church, and how to
teach it to the children and prepare
them for First Communion.
Sara and I – both great talkers –
prayed evening prayer from the
excellent Magnificat booklet and
agreed on silence after that to be in
proper pilgrim mode. I’m writing
this late, with tomorrow’s packed
programme in my thoughts.
Saturday, September 8th
A bunch of nuns at the bus stop,
evidently heading for the Congress,
so we joined them and, following
their advice, went to Mass at the
Shrine of the Blessed Sacrament
before heading for the vast Echo
Arena at the conference centre
along by the Mersey for the congress
itself.
Long queues, but when I looked
in, the Arena it looked so vast I
wondered if we’d fill it. I need not
have worried, by the time things
began there were very few spare
seats to be seen. Meanwhile, the
joy of meeting many friends, a lot
of greeting and hugs, and the bliss
of hot tea cheerfully dispensed.
Then finding a seat, unpacking the
pilgrim bag given to each of us
(contents included a candle, a
programme, a copy of Magnificat,
maps, info on various congress
events). And then came music, lots
of rather splendid lighting effects, a
welcome from the Archbishop of
Liverpool and the Papal Nuncio, and
the thing began.
An inspiring, upbeat, powerful
day. This was a superb and glorious
celebration of the Eucharist as the
source and summit of our faith.
Bishop Robert Barron was forthright,
challenging, inspiring and
informative as he directed us to the
Mass as true worship – worth-ship,
placing ourselves in the right
relationship with God. If we rightly
order things, giving glory to God
first, then other things are rightly
ordered: peace on earth and
goodwill to men.
He quoted Romano Gardini, the
Archbishop Peter and his
private secretary Father
Philip Glandfield.
Page 6

The Pilgrim October 2018
Feature
great liturgical scholar: the Mass is a
serious form of play, of doing
something simply for its own sake,
not because it is functionally
necessary like mending a car.
A really superb team of young
actors then made a drama
presentation on adoration of the
Eucharist – beautifully done.
The day had a glory about it. Vast
crowds, an atmosphere of goodwill.
Even the queues for food at
lunchtime were chatty and friendly.
I went out to see the Mersey and got
a rain-drenched glimpse of what
Liverpool meant to generations of
seamen and travellers: the grey sea
and river, The Liver Birds and the
city and the near Atlantic.
Bishop Barron’s second talk was,
if anything, even better. He spoke
of ordering our lives as in the great
rose window of a Gothic cathedral:
Christ at the centre. Thomas
Aquinas listed four substitutes for
God in our search for happiness:
wealth, pleasure, power and
honour. All will disappoint us. Only
God satisfies.
He spoke of the greatness of
things – of having “greatness of
heart”, of magnanimity. Hans Urs
von Balthasar emphasised our need
to seek the “theo-drama” over the
“ego drama”: life is not about me.
There were presentations from
Youth 2000 – young people
describing how adoration of Christ
in the Eucharist had changed their
lives – and from Aid to the Church in
Need, asking us to go to Mass on
behalf of those who can’t: Catholics
whose churches have been burned
down, who have been tortured or
imprisoned for their faith.
And the day ended with a solemn,
humble, powerful time of adoration
before the Eucharist, Cardinal
Vincent Nichols preaching and
speaking of penitence and prayer,
and leading us in kneeling with the
vast, silent crowd: something I will
remember for years to come.
More? Of course there was more.
A pleasant meal with family and
friends. Nightfever at the Blessed
Sacrament shrine, packed with
people, glittering with candles.
Liverpool streets filled with
Saturday night revellers, girls on
hen nights, much shrieking and
shouting. And some of them – many
of them, the most unlikely of them –
came in to pray, invited by the
young congress teams.
Sunday 7th September
Every Liverpudlian calls it Paddy’s
Wigwam or the Mersey Funnel or
some such name, so any southerner
who thinks it is clever and rude to do
so massively misses the point:
Liverpool Cathedral is a big
construction with a funnel on top
and it can pack in vast numbers of
people for Mass and that’s that. It
was filled to capacity twice this
morning for the eucharistic congress,
and after the second of these Masses
we streamed out in a great
procession, bearing the Blessed
Sacrament through the streets.
And the Lord caused rain to fall –
great, grey steady sheets of it. We
were all completely soaked. The
long, long column of priests in white
vestments, the men carrying the
huge golden embroidered canopy,
the Papal knights and dames in
robes, and above all the vast
congress of people – and we all just
marched on, drenched and united.
It really was glorious. It was the
most powerful Catholic gathering in
Britain since Pope Benedict XVI’s
magnificent visit in 2010, and had
something of the same atmosphere.
There was unity, prayer, and peace –
and great reverence for the Blessed
Sacrament, a real understanding of
the reality of the Lord’s presence
among us. There was a poignancy
about it all, too: Archbishop
McMahon had reminded us in his
homily that we should have a spirit
of penitence following the grim
revelations of sin in the Church, and
the rain seemed to echo that.
A priest near me began singing
Sweet Sacrament Divine in a fine
voice and we all joined in, and went
steadily from hymn to hymn. We
found it increasingly difficult to use
the booklets provided, because the
soaked pages stuck together – but
the hymns were all those that we
know well anyway.
The route took us back to the
cathedral: as the Blessed Sacrament
was brought up that great flight of
steps beneath the bell tower, the
sun came out and Benediction took
place in a sort of radiance.
It was intensely moving: the
Tantum Ergo rising to Heaven, and a
great roar of voices repeating the
Divine Praises. Cardinal Nichols and
a great phalanx of our bishops, a
great monstrance held high and a
blessing descending….and then, as
things came to an end, the
cathedral bells ringing out, and a
sense of something powerful having
happened.
There has only ever been one
previous eucharistic congress in
Britain: it was 110 years ago and
since then we have had two world
wars, lost an empire, and been
through massive social changes of a
kind unimaginable in 1908. In
Liverpool in 2018, with sunshine
breaking through after rain and on
our knees before the Blessed
Sacrament, we have humbly
entrusted our future to the Lord
who holds us all in his great heart.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols
leading the Blessed
Sacrament procession.
Page 7

Education/Family Life
The Pilgrim October 2018
How to be a successful student
John Lawson, who retired from teaching this year, offers some
valuable tips to students wanting to succeed in their studies.
My marriage to the classroom is
over, but my love of teaching
continues. Teaching is in my DNA
and I cherish most of my twenty-five
years of pedagoguery – I love
Mondays!
In that time, I have taken many
students to the mountain top of
educational excellence and today I
invite you to join me to breathe in
the rarefied and sweet scent of
success. How many 9’s (GCSE’s have
a new grading system) will you
garner next year? The answer to
that largely depends on how badly
you want to succeed. Wanting it
with a passion is the primary rule of
academic success.
The second rule is to show up as
often as possible – body and soul.
The most successful students
invariably have an excellent
attendance record. They aren’t just
physically present, they also have a
positive attitude, show respect for
their peers and teachers, they are
well organised, and apply
themselves to the work assigned to
them.
Consistent, purposeful application
is far more important than
postcodes, IQ, or social class. Show
up every day ready to learn and
watch those grades soar.
Study in small time-blocks. 2 x 15
is usually more effective than 1 x
60. There are few teenagers who
can sustain optimum concentration
beyond 15 minutes, if you are the
exception don’t change a winning
formula.
For everyone else, try studying for
fifteen minutes and then take a
fifteen-minute break to clear your
head and then repeat the process.
Over 70 per cent of my students say
that this is the most effective
strategy I have ever shared with
them.
Study as you can and not as you
cannot. When John Lennon was
asked about songwriting techniques
he said: “The way the works best
for you is the best way.” Ditto for
schoolwork. If you study best with
heavy-metal music shaking the
house and your parents and
neighbours are okay with that – keep
on rocking! You cannot argue with
success.
Nothing works better than hard
work. What hard work doesn’t
provide laziness certainly won’t.
Dedication to the cause cannot hold
you back.
Most of us do have a lousy
memory so take concise notes and
you won’t need to memorise
anything until final revision. I was
never great at memorising so I
mastered the art of summarising.
Make understanding the subject
your primary aim and then
memorisation becomes less
important.
Be smart and switch off your
smartphone. When your phone is
switched on, you aren’t totally
focused on your studies – switch it
off!
Learn five new words a day and
you will be one of the top-ten per
cent of word wizards in the nation.
Install a vocabulary app to help with
this.
When studying for a test, strip the
material down to its bare bones and
when you take the test put the flesh
back on the skeleton. Always write as
much as you can as well as you can.
Treat your teachers with kindness,
courtesy, and respect and you will
be amazed at how often they
reciprocate. Teachers are not your
enemies and discipline is a gift
rather than a curse.
Accept simple correction from
your teachers. It is never acceptable
to confront adults. When students
are aggressive, teachers get
defensive. If you feel a correction is
undeserved then politely speak to
your teacher privately after class.
Sit where you study best. If you
sit next to friends who talk
incessantly, guess whose quest for
success is doomed? Be smart and sit
where you can best focus on your
work.
Maintain a positive attitude. If
your attitude stinks – so will you!
The faint hearts say, “I can’t do
this,” and they never do, my
students say, “I can’t do this yet,”
and they usually aren’t saying it for
long. If it is to be it is up to me.
Correct your mistakes. There is no
shame in making mistakes; what
saddens me is the ceaseless
repetition of mistakes so easily
rectified e.g. there truely is no ‘e’
in truly.
Be punctual. If you are just in
time, you are late. Get to class
early!
Be wise, guys, don’t be wise guys.
Don’t agonise, organise.
Don’t count your words, make
your words count.
Finally, work hard, be honest,
have fun, dream big, laugh often,
be yourself – everyone else is taken
– and keep listening to the greatest
teacher ever, Jesus Christ. You will
never find lasting peace and
happiness without Him. May God
richly bless your new school year!
Kids and computer games
By Lucy Russell
As I was walking along Deal
seafront in the autumn sunshine, I
was amused to watch a baby
seagull trying to move closer and
closer to its mother, as she kept
slowly moving an inch or so away.
I can clearly recall wanting just
five minutes on my own when the
boys were small. Even when there
are no demands to be lovingly met,
some brief respite from the
presence of the ones you are
utterly responsible for is welcome
and occasionally necessary.
Fr Denis McBride once
commented to me that we all need
to go on regular retreats, even
mothers. He had watched a mother
on a train one day and noted how
she kept her children under
constant, loving surveillance; she
was on “high alert” the whole time.
Parents are always on duty, day
and night. I watched the mother
seagull as I walked and felt a
certain affinity with her. Fr Denis is
quite right. We all need some time
now and then to retreat, and that
includes the children.
Things have changed now that
James is approaching 13 and Edgar
has just turned ten. The demands
are different. James has been
playing his favourite computer
game since he got up this morning,
but I have told him that in half an
hour he has an appointment with
me!
I want to practise a bread recipe
with him that I am thinking of using
with the students at St Edmund’s
School, and he also has some
homework I think we should do
together. He isn’t keen on doing
either of these things, late on a
Saturday morning.
But I don’t think playing on
Fortnite gives him the respite he
thinks it does. He needs to do other
things with his weekend too. It’s all
about balance, because one thing
that electronic devices and
computer games do give us as
parents is some respite and time to
get done the things that we need or
want to.
Lots of us struggle to get the
right balance and control of this
right. The TV presenter Kirstie
Allsopp has revealed that during
the summer she got so fed up with
her children using their iPads when
they weren’t supposed to that she
smashed the iPads on the kitchen
table.
There has been much comment
about the expense and waste of
this, but that apart I can identify
with her frustration and action. She
has said that ridding her family of
the games that took all her sons’
attention has proved a joy for the
whole family and the boys spend
more time reading, involved in
creative projects and playing. I
don’t doubt it.
Trying to get James to leave his
computer and come and bake with
me won’t be easy. Gaming leaves
children revved up, stressed out
and primed for a meltdown.
James thinks Saturday morning is
a time to relax after a week at
school, and there is a social
element. He is happy gaming online
with his best friend. But trying to
get him to come away from the
computer and do something else
will result in inevitable frustration
and sometimes anger.
Using gaming as a retreat from
the working week is a stark
contrast to a real retreat. Those
who have taken part in a religious
retreat say that this is a significant
time in their lives.
A few years ago scientists in the
US discovered that going on retreat
also had a physical effect on the
brain. They studied the effects of
attending a week-long retreat
involving silent contemplation and
prayer according to the teachings
of Saint Ignatius of Loyola.
The researchers wrote in a paper
in the journal Religion, Brain and
Behaviour that the findings
“suggest that participating in a
spiritual retreat can have a shortterm
impact on the brain’s
dopamine and serotonin function,
and that this might relate to
various emotional and spiritual
measures.”
Dopamine is involved in
cognition, emotion and movement,
while serotonin is associated with
emotional regulation and mood. I
feel better just writing about the
effects of religious retreats. Now,
wish me luck as I go and get James
off the computer!
Page 8

The Pilgrim October 2018
Coming to terms
with clerical abuse
Courageous
missionary
women
By Sister Janet Fearns
Viewpoint
By Father Ashley Beck
This year we are looking month by
month at the sacraments of the
Church. We now come to
ordination, and I am writing this
after what has to be seen as a bad
summer for the Church in terms of
the acts of ordained clergy.
In the United States the
appalling statistics of the number
of children abused by clergy and
religious in the dioceses of the
state of Pennsylvania, coupled
with the horrifying reports of
crimes committed by priests and
monks in Ampleforth and
Downside, raise serious questions
for all Catholics (and indeed there
are similar problems in the Church
of England) about our theology of
“orders” and the quality of men
being ordained and the ways in
which they have been supervised
and managed.
We believe that the three
orders of bishop, priest and
deacon exist in the Church
according to the will of God. In
different ways those who are
ordained receive special grace
from God at their ordination to
enable them to help to sanctify
the People of God through the
sacraments, to teach Christians
about the faith, and to provide
leadership.
These are the basic features of
our belief which can’t be
changed. Nor can our view that
when you are ordained you are
marked out in a way which you
never lose: even a priest who has
left ministry is able to administer
some sacraments in certain
situations.
Our theology about bishops,
priests and deacons has developed
a lot over the centuries and a
great deal since the Second
Vatican Council, above all by
seeing ministry as a collegial and
collaborative exercise.
So, for example, the growing
importance of episcopal
conferences helps us understand
how bishops share in the teaching
ministry of the pope, the Bishop
of Rome. Again, the restoration of
the permanent diaconate since
Vatican II has given us back
something important which had
been lacking for many centuries.
Of course, the scandal of abuse
is not the only thing which,
alongside much theological
renewal, challenges us. In most of
western Europe there has been a
dramatic fall in the number of
vocations to the priesthood.
This has led to some parishes
being closed and an increasing
dependence on the ministry of
priests from overseas. Both the
scandal and the fall in numbers
has led many to question the
discipline of celibacy for priests;
there are also real questions being
raised about the seminary model
of formation.
Because of what has happened
it is perhaps best to concentrate
on one very difficult issue which
may affect many of you. What do
we say about the ministry of
priests who turn out to have
committed grave crimes of abuse
against children or vulnerable
adults? For many laypeople,
discovering this about a man they
have perhaps loved and respected
for year can damage or even
destroy faith. How do parishes
and communities cope with this?
An important characteristic of
sacramental theology is the
Church’s teaching that however
sinful a priest or other minister
might be, this doesn’t hinder the
grace we receive from the
sacraments he ministers.
He’s been given the ministry of
being a channel for that grace at
his ordination, and he doesn’t lose
that by behaving badly. Of course
his sins are heinous, and he will
be held to account for them
because of the responsibility he
has been given, but God is
stronger than his sinfulness.
So in terms of what really
matters – the strength we get
from God – we should be
reassured by this. For those of us
who are priests, this belief also
puts us in our place and should
stop us giving way to the sin of
pride; the danger of course is that
it can make us indifferent or
complacent about our sins.
This belief does not detract
either from the need for
communities to work through pain
and anger when it come to light
that a pastor has committed these
sins. It’s a big mistake for the pain
to be brushed under the carpet.
These things need to be aired
and talked about. One thing we
are all hopefully learning from the
crisis is the need for open and
frank discussion, the need to
listen to one another.
In relation to the abuse crisis
we should pray first and foremost
for all the victim survivors and
their families. But in an article
about the sacrament of holy
orders I would also ask you to pray
for those of us who are priests,
for the deacons of this diocese,
and for our archbishop and
bishops.
Most clergy do carry out their
ministry conscientiously and
faithfully; many feel gravely
wounded by the sin and scandal.
But we show the depth of our
belonging to the one family of the
Church by joining in prayer and
solidarity, and asking God’s
forgiveness for our sins as a
community.
n Father Ashley Beck is assistant
priest of St Edmund of
Canterbury in Beckenham,
senior lecturer in pastoral
ministry at St Mary’s University
and dean of studies of the
diocesan formation programme
for the diaconate.
Cardinal Sean
O’Malley, President
of the Pontifical
Commission for the
Protection of Minors
On 2nd December 1980, Jean
Donovan, a lay missionary, was
tortured and murdered alongside
three missionary sisters, Sisters
Dorothy Kazel, Maura Clarke and Ita
Ford, in El Salvador.
Before she died at the hands of a
military death squad, Jean wrote to
a friend, saying: “Several times I
have decided to leave El Salvador. I
almost could, except for the
children, the poor, bruised victims
of this insanity. Who would care for
them? Whose heart could be so
staunch as to favour the reasonable
thing in a sea of their tears and
loneliness? Not mine, dear friend,
not mine.”
The only fault that the four
missionaries had committed was to
risk their lives by protecting the
brutalised poor of El Salvador. They
offered shelter, food and transport
to medical care. They buried the
broken bodies left behind by the
death squads.
Sister Maura, a Maryknoll sister,
wrote: “My fear of death is being
challenged constantly as children,
lovely young girls, old people are
being shot and some cut up with
machetes and bodies thrown by the
road and people prohibited from
burying them. A loving Father must
have a new life of unimaginable joy
and peace prepared for these
precious unknown, uncelebrated
martyrs.”
Yet she added: “If we leave the
people when they suffer the cross,
how credible is our word to them?
The Church’s role is to accompany
those who suffer the most, and to
witness our hope in the resurrection.”
Sister Dorothy Stang, a missionary
to the landless peasants of Brazil
and a Sister of Notre Dame, died on
12th February 2005, murdered as
she walked through the Amazonian
rainforest on her way to a village
meeting.
Known as the “Angel of the
Amazon” because of her
wholehearted devotion to the poor,
she had received death threats but
remained undeterred in her struggle
for justice.
She declared: “I don’t want to
flee, nor do I want to abandon the
battle of these farmers who live
without any protection in the forest.
They have the sacrosanct right to
aspire to a better life on land where
they can live and work with dignity
while respecting the environment.”
Asked why she carried on fighting,
the future martyr responded: “There
are things you do because they feel
right and they make no sense and
they make no money and it may be
the real reason we are here: to love
each other (and to eat each other’s
cooking) and to say it was good!”
On 12th February 2005, two hired
gunmen blocked Sister Dorothy’s
path and asked if she had any
weapons. “This is my only weapon”,
she replied and showed them her
bible. She then read a passage from
the beatitudes, “Blessed are the
poor in spirit...”
The gunmen responded by shooting
her six times, leaving her body
sprawled on the path where she fell.
Sister Dorothy Stang,
a modern day martyr.
Yet missionary women do not
need to die a martyr’s death in
order to give their lives for those
who suffer at the hands of others.
History’s first missionary woman
was Mary Magdalene, the first to see
the risen Jesus and to tell others
the news of the Resurrection.
Communities of women living a
life of vowed consecrated virginity
first appeared in the third century,
but society could not and would not
consider the possibility of a
missionary vocation for women.
There was no alternative to the
cloister.
In fact, Pope Boniface VII (1294-
1309) made enclosure an inviolable
obligation for all solemnly professed
nuns and the Council of Trent
confirmed this. It is also true that,
during the turbulent Middle Ages,
the monastery or abbey walls gave
some guarantee of physical
protection to unarmed women
dedicated to God rather than to
carrying weapons.
Many works of charity and, in
particular, missionary activities,
became incompatible with enclosure:
if living within the monastery walls,
the nuns could not also travel the
world as teachers, nurses etc.
By the 17th century and the time
of Pope Pius V and St Vincent de
Paul, communities of sisters arose
who were not bound to enclosure.
They soon proved themselves to be
so valuable in their care of orphans,
the poor and the sick that,
gradually, bishops decided that they
were necessary for the growth and
viability of the local Church.
Eventually sisters received
permission to become involved in
overseas mission. Since the 19th
century this has become completely
non-controversial and an ordinary,
acceptable part of Catholic life.
Today, they live and work in some of
the most remote places on earth.
Some congregations have been
specifically founded to go where
priests have not yet travelled.
The Mass and the sacraments form
the primary role and responsibility
of the priest, but people do not
spend their entire lives inside a
church! There are very few, if any,
areas of mission life in which Sisters
are not engaged. They are the ones
who establish and maintain schools,
clinics, hospitals, orphanages,
catechetical centres, counselling
services... The list is endless.
Those who are evangelised must
themselves evangelise. But a
woman’s involvement in “mission” is
never just an intellectual “trip”,
following an ideal. She also travels
with her heart. She takes her unique
womanly abilities to give life,
nurture, protect and defend to the
missions where she serves.
Mission is a way of loving.
Page 9

Feature
The Pilgrim October 2018
On the medieval trail in Kent
By Father Rodney Schofield
Sixty years ago I was living north of
London. My secondary school had a
long history, having once been a
monastic school established by the
Benedictine abbey in St Albans.
We were still blessed (in my view)
by our twice weekly visit to the
abbey for school prayers. Why?
because by the 1950s the wonderful
wall paintings dating from the late
12th century had been restored, and
were on the Norman pillars for us
schoolboys to contemplate.
Elsewhere in the abbey there was
of course the shrine of St Alban
himself, martyred around the year
209. And we knew of the abbey’s
chronicler Matthew Paris, who in the
13th century recorded and
illuminated many important
historical works, outshone only by
one of the abbey’s earlier pupils –
Nicholas Breakspeare, who became
Pope Adrian IV.
No wonder I thought my home
town was unique – until I came to
live in Kent some seven years ago.
Here in Wye, in the Stour valley, I
discovered that these highlighted
features of my upbringing can all be
paralleled nearby.
A few miles south is the village of
Brook, where St Mary’s church has
preserved its own medieval mural
The church of St Gregory
and St Martin in Wye.
cycles, covering a great variety of
biblical scenes.
In the other direction lies
Canterbury, once the home of St
Augustine’s Abbey and several
priories, whose scriptoria were
famous for the manuscripts they
produced and whose libraries held
several thousand volumes – until
they were ransacked by Henry VIII’s
officials.
Today several hundred of these
remain, although among collections
in places such as the British Library,
the Bodleian, Lambeth Palace,
certain Oxbridge colleges.
Again, Canterbury was a great
centre for pilgrims, who came in
earlier days to visit the shrines of
Saxon saints as well as the martyred
remains of archbishop Alphege and
then in greater numbers to seek the
aid of St Thomas Becket.
One of the first such pilgrims,
Philip of Flanders, was escorted
there in 1177 by Henry II, who then
spent Easter at the royal manor of
Wye Court. (Wye cannot claim a
pope among its offspring, but one
local lad John Kempe did become
Archbishop of Canterbury and
founded a college for priests here in
the 1440s.)
More recently, I came to realise
that Wye is not so very different
from many other towns and villages
Medieval murals in St
Mary’s church in Brook.
in Kent. There is a rich heritage of
medieval manuscripts, murals and
martyrs (I include other saints here
too) found across the whole county.
The book I have just published
Footprints of Faith: exploring Kent’s
heritage surveys these topics in
turn, setting each of them in a
broader historical context. It is
illustrated throughout in full colour.
Obviously it was not possible to
include every single extant
manuscript, but a selection has
been made which draws from those
known to have been kept at
different monastic houses in Kent –
those in Canterbury, Minster Abbey,
Dover Priory, St Andrew’s in
Rochester, and even at smaller
establishments like Lillechurch.
Their range and content certainly
grew significantly over the
centuries, revealing a thirst to learn
more of the Bible (marginal
annotations were encouraged!) and
more of God’s self-revelation
through nature (astronomy came to
play a part, while bestiaries
exhibited the range of human
virtues and vices already present in
the animal kingdom).
Sadly, the vast majority of
paintings that once brought biblical
scenes and the lives of saints alive
for ordinary parishioners on the
walls of their churches have long
since perished, but an attempt has
been made here to present a
comprehensive account of what
remains.
There are roughly 30 churches
(and cathedrals) across Kent where
murals from the 12th century and
onward have survived in varying
states of preservation. Some
Pilgrims heading for Canterbury
represent saints or legends that we
might now regard as fabulous,
nevertheless – once again – their
purpose was to stimulate ‘faith,
hope and charity’.
The main focus of pilgrimage in
Kent was obviously Canterbury,
although other shrines are
mentioned. Considerable detail is
included about the pilgrimage itself,
with an account of the varied
reasons for undertaking it, the
nature of the journey and of what
actually happened at the shrine.
A novel aspect of the book is a
survey of how rapidly Becket’s cult
spread, not just within England, but
across the whole of Europe. The
point is also made that pilgrims
were frequently reminded that,
while miraculous events were
always possible, the true objective
must be their growth in faith. There
are then concluding reflections for
our own day and age.
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Page 10

The Pilgrim October 2018
Archbishop Peter visiting “the jungle”
in Calais in September 2015.
Feature/Diary
October - Diary
Calais migrants still need help
By Phil Kerton
It’s three years since Archbishop
Peter visited the former Calais
“Jungle” and joined a call for
people to be generous to the
vulnerable and help them live in
dignity and contribute to civil
society as well as provide practical
and financial support.
The challenge remains, despite a
lack of media coverage. There are
around 750 exiles sleeping rough in
and around Calais, with at least as
many more scattered in smaller
groups along the coast from Bilbao
to Flushing. Calais is different
because there are also hundreds of
riot police there.
The region lost jobs in former
heavy industries and this provides
votes for the National Front. Efforts
to support strangers can be resented
by locals who have lost hope and
distrust established political parties.
Several aid associations support
those who have fled because
existence has become impossible
back home. Whether famine, floods,
war, political or religious
persecution, whether Syria or
Afghanistan, they have no choice.
They don’t come to take
advantage of our generosity, but to
establish new and peaceful lives.
Why go through terror, bereavement
and loss of all possessions unless
your life depends on it?
So far in 2018, the number of
migrants reaching the EU by sea fell
by 50 per cent, compared with the
same period in 2017. But the
number of deaths in the
Mediterranean has mushroomed to
1500.
It’s only a minority of those
reaching Europe who come to
France, and only a minority of these
to Calais. Typically, they have family
or friends here and speak a little
English through exposure to TV,
films and pop music. Many play
cricket and support Manchester
United!
Around Calais, the exiles stand
out, huddled in small groups,
seeking shelter from sun or rain.
Some 60 young Eritreans sleep in
woodland next to a main road.
Elsewhere, there are Sudanese,
Afghans, Kurds and Ethiopians
(including Oromo Ethiopians); also
people from Syria, Iraq and other
African countries such as Chad and
Cameroon.
Calais is a base for support
groups, self-organised and
diversified. Some focus on
distributions of food, water and
(laundered and repaired) clothes,
and bedding, while others deal with
women’s’ issues, health or
education, or providing daytime
activities. Growing understanding of
needs spurs efforts to provide phone
credit and internet access.
As summer temperatures rose,
people realised how little remained
in the warehouses, with many
empty shelves. Stocks of basic items
dropped to a critical level, with
sleeping bags becoming scarce.
Why? Because six clearances of
“camps” in two weeks in July left
people sleeping rough with no
protection, with bedding and
clothes confiscated! August started
with a report that a storm had
devastated camps, leaving refugees
living under foil blankets in the rain.
There have been several more
evictions every week in August, part
of the French state’s aggressive
policy of making newcomers feel
unwelcome – it took a court order to
gain access to sufficient fresh water
during the heatwave.
As the summer ends, fresh
volunteers are needed. Perhaps it
could be you? Find out who needs
help: they will explain what’s
involved and advise on
accommodation. Then just go to
Calais and get stuck in!
To apply for asylum, exiles must
first reach UK soil, where over half
will (eventually) succeed. The
French have pleaded for preprocessing
offices over there,
especially for minors, but the Home
Office apparently prefers to keep
things difficult, in line with its
culture of hostility.
Frontiers drawn by former
colonial powers are fragile. Our
asylum laws were written a long
time ago in a different world where
there were far fewer refugees
seeking new homes.
As Pope Francis reminds us, the
rules are no longer fit for purpose in
a globalised world, and governments
must address this and help
newcomers integrate with existing
populations. The pending new UN
Global Compacts on migrants and
refugees (supported in the recent
“Share the Journey” campaign) may
open a way forward.
Why not claim asylum in France?
Apart from the ill treatment that
most have already received, not
much is done to explain the system.
Claims must be made in French and
delivered in person to one of the
few relevant regional offices, with a
high probability of arrest when
travelling to attempt delivery. Just
a few agencies, such as Secours
Catholique, offer advice and
accompaniment.
Many of African origin find a
second or third class existence in
French cities, dating back 50 years
to the Algerian independence war.
French-speaking potential asylum
seekers are traditionally afraid to
stay, citing past French support for
feared dictators and believing that
“security agents” will still target
them.
Additionally, although France –
with far more exiles arriving –
receives more asylum applications
than the UK, the success rate is far
lower.
Remember them and those who
try to help in your prayers.
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If you have an event,
please e-mail
details to us at
pilgrim@rcaos.org.uk
6: Day of renewal, St George’s
Cathedral, 9.45am – 4.45pm,
including a healing service led by
Damian Stayne of the Cor Lumen
Christi community and Mass
celebrated by Archbishop Kevin
McDonald. Please bring a packed
lunch. For more information,
phone 01892-542245.
7: Catholic history walk,
Southwark and The Borough.
Meet 4pm at Church of the Most
Precious Blood, O’Meara Street
SE1. Walks lasts about 1½ to two
hours. A donation of £5.00 per
person is suggested for each
walk. For more information:
www.catholichistorywalks.com
9: Catholic history walk,
Westminster and Parliament.
Meet 6.30pm (after 5.30pm Mass)
on the steps of Westminster
Cathedral, Victoria Street, SW1.
13: Commissioning day for extraordinary
ministers of Holy
Communion, St George’s
Cathedral.
20: Justice, Peace and Integrity
of Creation Commission,
“Christians working in Solidarity
Across the Channel”, 11am to
4pm, St Paul’s Catholic Church,
Maison Dieu Road, Dover.
A buffet will be served at 1pm
and there will be a walk to pray
at the memorial plaques on
Dover sea front for migrants who
have died trying to reach the UK.
For more information, email
Marie Bullard at
office@southwarkjandp.co.uk to
book.
21: Catholic history walk, In the
footsteps of St Thomas More.
Meet 4pm Church of Our Most
Holy Redeemer and St Thomas
More, Cheyne Row SW3.
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Page 11

The Pilgrim October 2018
Focus on faith
In the footsteps of St Thomas
By Suresh Aboodas
The San Thome Cathedral Basilica in
Madras (now called Chennai) is very
unique in being only one of the three
basilicas in the world built over the
tomb of one of the twelve apostles.
The other two are St Peter’s in Rome
and the cathedral in Santiago de
Compostela.
The San Thome church in Madras
was first built by the Portuguese in
the 16th century. Later in 1893 it was
rebuilt by the British giving it the
status of a cathedral.
It is usually said in the West that
not much is heard about St Thomas
apart from the fact that he travelled
East to preach the Gospel. However,
there is a wealth of information on
him and his travels taking the
message of Jesus Christ right into the
lair of non-believers and believers of
other religions.
Thomas first arrived in India on the
Malabar Coast, in what is now called
Kodungallur, in Kerala in 52 A.D. At
that time, the place was dominated
by a caste called Brahmins, who were
orthodox Hindus and upper caste.
Jesus and Christianity were unknown
to the locals there.
Thomas is said to have performed a
number of miracles to reinforce that
Christ was the true God and the
Messiah.
It is interesting to note how
Thomas set on to convert these
Brahmins and spread the Gospel. It is
said that he performed several
miracles which so stunned the local
people that the whole Brahmin
community along with their priests
immediately converted and
embraced Christianity.
To give an example, it is claimed
that when Thomas was walking along
a river bank, he saw several Brahmins
doing their ablutions and their Hindu
rituals. They began to throw the
water upwards into the sky. When
Thomas asked them why, they said
that it was an offering to their god.
At once Thomas asked them why is
it that the water is falling down and
told them that it may be because
their god was not accepting their
offering. He challenged them that his
God would accept it if he threw it
up. If he proved this, his God was
superior to their god and that they
should embrace Christianity. Thomas
then performed the miracle. He
threw the water high up and the
water remained still in the air. At
once all the Brahmins there got
converted.
On the way to Mylapore in the
state of Tamilnadu on the east, he
stopped at a village called
Malayattoor, situated on top of a hill.
When Thomas came to Malayattoor,
a hostile reception was given to him
and he was forced to flee to the top
of the mountain, where he prayed to
God for help. Upon touching the
rock, blood sprang forth from it. As
he fled from his enemies, he stamped
his feet on the hot rock and his
footprints are said to be still there to
today.
Later, people found a divine light
emanating from the hard rock and
upon examining they found a golden
cross. This cross is said to be growing
in height every year. Ever since then
people from all over the country and
the world have flocked to this hill.
This shrine has now been accorded an
international pilgrimage station
status.
Thomas then fled towards east and
landed at a place called Mylapore in
the present day Madras in 68 A.D. He
is said to have preached from the top
of a hill called Little Mount.
Adjacent to this place is called St
Thomas Mount which marks the spot
where St Thomas was attacked and
killed by a spear.
St Thomas Day is celebrated on 3rd
July in memory of the martyrdom.
Blood soaked earth and the lance
that killed him were brought to
Mylapore and buried with his body.
The San Thome church was built in
the Gothic style and completed in
1896. It was consecrated by Bishop
Dom Henrique Jose Reed da Silva.
Pope Pius XII honoured the
cathedral church of the Archdiocese
of Madras-Mylapore by raising it to
the level of a minor basilica in 1956.
The Basilica houses a museum that
is a treasure house of great antiquity,
which includes the lance-head that
killed St Thomas, a rare piece of his
precious bone and other valuable
artefacts.
The Basilica is also famous for
devotion to our Lady known as Our
Lady of Mylapore. It is said that St
Francis Xavier, who visited the
church, had brought the statue of our
Lady. He used to spend long hours in
prayer in front of it. The feast of Our
Lady of Mylapore is celebrated with
great devotion in the month of
December.
In order to keep pace with the
growing number of pilgrims visiting
the Basilica and St Thomas’ tomb,
the caretakers have built an
extension to the tomb and this now
forms a separate shrine for St
Thomas. People can now go straight
to the shrine without going into the
church.
St Pope John Paul II visited the
shrine and the Basilica in 1986 on his
first visit to India.
The Basilica and St Thomas’ shrine
continues to draw huge crowds even
to this day.
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