Don't let ACTA get away with it

You would be forgiven for believing that there is a massive groundswell of opinion in the pews that calls not just for change but for a drastic re-configuration of Catholic doctrine.

That is not the case. The British branch of ACTA has, allegedly 1500 'active' members.

I am uncertain as to what ACTA means by 'active' but, I shall be charitable and guess that they mean card carrying members.

But, any group that bangs on about women priests and women conducting "communion services" and other such matters, really needs to do some navel gazing to determine whether they are on the right bus.

As an ex PR man I can testify to the fact that, if you shout a message loud and hard, it will, in time, be believed by the masses (not a ploy that I used, I hasten to add).

 Therefore, this group needs to be challenged, in a charitable way, before they gain acceptance through apathy and ignorance.

They are due to meet with Bishop Egan on March 6th (in an earlier post I quoted from ACTA's minutes of a meeting when they expressed disappointment at Bishop Egan closing the door to them. Now I am pleased that he is going ahead with a meeting as the ACTA regional team need to be told a few home truths, and + Egan is the man for the job).

So, please email His Lordship at  bishop@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk and respectfully request that, when he meets with ACTA he bans them from using Diocesan premises for any of their meetings.

Let's nip it in the bud.

And, while we are at it, please write to your own bishop asking that ACTA be barred from using Church premises.

Excellent posts on ACTA are available at:


De Omnibus Dubitandem Est
Protect the Pope

Door closed to ACTA in Portsmouth

Cells of the ACTA (A Call to Action) group seem to be popping up everywhere; Lancaster, Birmingham, Brighton,  where next - Chipping Sodbury,  Llandewi Brefi?

This group claims (and I am sure they are right) that many of their members are ordained - that really makes their shenanigans all the more shameful.

Meetings are planned in the Westminster Archdiocese and Southwark in February but, it appears that Bishop Egan of Portsmouth, great man that he is, has said "no" to meeting with them in the foreseeable future.

A few knaves and a joker or two!

This from the September 2013 minutes of the ACTA meeting attended by Tom Woodman, Peter Birks, Derek Reeve and Claire McKenna. Well, at least four people attended, they could have had a game of bridge.

"It was suggested that all Portsmouth members should be informed that Bishop Philip Egan had found himself unable to meet with us and that they be encouraged to express disappointment to him by post...."

OK, so good English is not one of their strengths but it is heartening to see at least one of our bishops having the fibre to refuse to meet with such a hobbledehoy bunch.

I do not think that ACTA is going to move into a position of power or influence any time in the near future, but there is no room for complacency.

So what can be done?

The finest strategy instantly available to all of us is, of course to pray for them; offer up Rosaries, make penances on their behalf and, if you are a priest, perhaps say a Mass for them - but don't, whatever you do, make Church premises available to them.

A Prayer for those who challenge the doctrines of the Faith

O God, everlasting creator of all things, remember that the souls of unbelievers were made by Thee and formed in Thine own image and likeness.

Remember, that Jesus, Thy Son, endured a most bitter death for their salvation.

Permit not, I beseech Thee, O Lord, that Thy Son should be despised any longer by unbelievers,  but do Thou graciously accept the prayers of holy men and of the Church, the Spouse of Thy most holy Son, and be mindful of Thy mercy.

Forget their idolatry and unbelief and grant that they too may some day know Him Thou hast sent, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our Life and Resurrection, by whom we have been saved and delivered, to whom be glory for endless ages. Amen.

Down Pompey!

Having a few minutes to spare in downtown Portsmouth (Pompey is the slang version of the name, just in case there are any American Catholics still viewing after the Great Obamaville Chainsaw Massacre), I found myself within a few minutes of St John's Cathedral, alma mater to such eminent theologians as Worlock and Hollis.

The external architecture of this fine building is typically Victorian; red bricks surmounted by lots of stone squiggly bits (I have a Master's in The Built Environment doncha know?).

Internally, it's typically Anglican in decor and furnishings......that is really good except that, it's supposed to be a Catholic Cathedral.

Why, I wonder idly to myself as I ritually drown my rubber duck each nightly bathtime, why are Catholic Cathedrals so devoid of candle trays at the feet of statues?
 Come to think of it, there are precious few statues, perhaps that's the answer.

OK, St John's did have one tray at the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and one sans candles at the Sacred Heart statue (just in case odd irate Pompeians fill up the combox with complaints).

But, after saying my prayers, I found myself  wondering what it was that was missing in this church.

There were some beautiful statues including an outstanding Pieta, the stained glass was, OK - ish, if you like Victorian stained glass.

But there was something else, something almost undefinable missing.

It lacked a presence, that was it!

No, more than that, it lacked the Presence. It was, I have to say, a very Anglican type experience.

The main altar could have done with some adornment to make it less of a Protestant table and the tabernacle could have been centrally placed behind the main altar.
That might have done it.

The large statue of St Peter has a printed plaque beneath it carrying the words of the 'Our Father'. It reads:
"Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be they name, they will be done..."etc
Were they typos or were they remnants of an olde Hampshire dialect?
Someone will enlighhten me no doubt

Of course, it's barely a month since Bishop Philip assumed the chair so he must be allowed some space within which to work change but it would be good for the Diocesan mother church to exude a little more of a Catholic aura.

Afterwards, I just had time to call in to the Cathedral shop to pick up some candles (with the 3 days in mind) you never know, a candle holder for our crucifix and Jane Mossendew's CTS booklet on God and Gardens, an excellent guide to plants, flowers and garden layouts all framed within aspects of the Faith- great.

Next step, on to Kingston and Henfield - the latter to see my eldest sister whom is much loved by all.

Yours in haste.

A reply from the Bishop...except that, it's not

It all started with a polite request from me to Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth.

I asked why one of his parishes was organising a visit to a Hindu Temple; it seemed a pretty pointless exercise to me and ecumaniacal initiatives such as this never seem to have a reciprocation aspect to them.
We tend to go forth and join rather than to go forth and teach.

Now this is where it gets boring (yawn) it's a bit anecdotal so please bear with me.
I received a nice reply from the Bishop suggesting that I take the matter up with my Parish Priest - alack!
 I am a pikey Catholic, I have no parish, no place to lay my head or kneel in prayer except several 'adopted' churches where the PP is a kind and forbearing person.

Mantra for customer satisfaction -
 "Delegation is good but it must be followed through"

In haste I responded with an apology for giving the impression that I was a parishioner of St James's Church, Reading.

And then.......the response comes back.....except that, whilst it purports to come from the Bishop it obviously comes from one of his priests charged with admin duties filed under "Nuisance enquiries from awkward b*****s" (that stands for bloggers, by the way).

You see, as any fule kno, as Molesworth would say, you never, ever, send an email that has been forwarded or cc'd.

Because the chances are that there will be one or two earlier emails on the tab that may carry info that you would not wish the final recipient to see.

Now, my reply carried nothing nasty as such but it had not, I believe, been sent by the Bishop because there was a forward note from the Bish's PA stating: "Father, for you"

And the reply itself was.....a bit (I'm trying to be charitable) -  pompous and twittish, and I am sure that the Bishop would never have made such remarks.

Here is the response, verbatim, you may judge for yourselves (my comments in red):

Dear Robert (Um, just plain Richard would do, it is my name after all)

The nature of interreligious dialogue and proclamation is of course a complex one. (Well, it certainly sounds it) You might do well to look at the article by Mgr. Billy Steele on the Diocese of Leeds website (It really gets up my nose when people say things like "You have to understand" or "You might do well" and, anyway, I would never read anything from a Catholic priest with the Christian name 'Billy').

Some Christians veer towards syncretism, others to fundamentalism (err....there is a whole world between those two words and just because I may object to syncretism it doesn't make me a fundamentalist) and the rejection of any possible ‘conversation.’ (But is a visit to a Hindu temple a 'conversation'? What is the actual purpose of such a visit?)

The Catholic position is directed by recent Church teaching (Such as?). 
In this particular case, I still think it would be best to discuss the precise nature of the proposed visit with the Parish Priest (but, as I have stated before, I am not a member of this bleeping parish!) before making your judgment.(Ah...judgements are wrong, that's the innuendo here).

With prayers and best wishes

In Corde Iesu

+ Philip

What an awful, ignorant letter. I am confident that Bishop Philip did not write it, what do you think?

If I was the Bishop I'd give whoever it was that wrote it, a week's course on customer service and relationships at Marks and Spencer.

Ecumenism or ecumania?

I have received news that the parishioners of St James's Church, Reading are off on an ecumenical jolly shortly.

No, they are not going to Canterbury to share an altar in a joint service, neither are they off to have a sing-a-long with the Episcopalians, it's something far more exotic than that.......

they.....are......going to......a Hindu Temple!

But...but....Hindus are not Christians, there is nothing that we can share with them and, if my sense of prophecy is in working order, I think that those good Catholic parishioners from St James will be drawn into some sort of Hindu ceremony on the evening.

Maybe a bit of bindi along with the Hindi?

That is not on, not on at all and I am sure that Bishop Egan, newly elected to Portsmouth Diocese, will have something to say about it.

Why not ask him what he thinks? He is visiting the parish on Friday 14th December when he will preside at a Mass of Thanksgiving - an excellent opportunity I think.


This is taken from the parish newsletter:-

INTERFAITH VISIT TO HINDU TEMPLE,
112 Whitley Street, Reading RG2 0EQ
on Tuesday, 30th October at 6.00pm.
The aim is to provide the catholic
group with an experience of Hindu
worship in the Temple. All are
welcome.

Will there, I wonder, be a future visit to a Muslim mosque?.........now that would be interesting.

You may also wish to email His Lordship...it's by form HERE


My thanks to GM for this post