De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

March for Life Paris, 2015 In January 2016, a British youth 'contingent' will attend the 11th March for Life in Paris, to represent UK pro-lifers and to show solidarity with the French pro-life movement. Because SPUC believes that those living in the UK (and young people in particular) should be part of pro-life marches in the UK and abroad, SPUC has arranged for this trip to take place and has also subsidised it. They want the young people of today to be the generation who abolish abortion and witness to the fact that the alienable right to life is not a belief which is the preserve of a few in society, it is a truth which should be upheld and promoted by all. Please join us in proudly marching for life in the streets of Paris in January 2016! We will be leaving London on Friday 22nd January from Westminster Cathedral, travelling by coach and ferry, and returning early on Monday morning - spending the entire weekend in Paris. The timings are as follows: Friday: 10am -...

Supporters of pro-life groups like SPUC stand up for unborn children in many ways. One of the great successes in recent years has been the witness given by pro-life groups across the country through peaceful vigil outside abortion clinics. Last night the BBC attacked ‪#‎prolife‬ pavement-counsellors. Watch this SPUC video for the true side of the story and then sign the petition against buffer-zones here .

SPUC launched their new website yesterday https://www.spuc.org.uk/ it looks really good! Their Chief Executive is John Smeaton. He is a somewhat controversial figure for many, probably because he makes them feel uncomfortable—he is unflinchingly unwilling to compromise on Catholic issues and speaks the truth to power. He was recently given the inaugural Father Paul Marx Pro-Life Award by Human Life International (HLI), the world's largest pro-life organisation, at a banquet concluding HLI’s 7th Prayer Congress for Life in Fatima, Portugal. Personally, I find him rather refreshing in his straight-forwardness and clarity. I also think he is a bit of a hero. Today saw some disasterous developments at the Synod on the Family in Rome as Thirteen cardinals have written to Pope Francis to protest about the direction being taken . The letter , which was handed to the Pope by George Cardinal Pell on Monday 5th October, is a devastating critique of the conduct of the synod. Father R...

Connie Wood and Mary Doogan Mary Doogan has delivered thousands of babies throughout her career as a midwife. Seven years ago, Mary, along with Connie Wood and other midwife colleagues, were faced with a challenge to their right to refuse to be involved with abortions carried out on the labour ward. You can read the details here . Between 19 and 24 October 2015, Mary Doogan and Rhoslyn Thomas, SPUC's Youth and Education Officer, will be touring England and Wales. SPUC now invite you to hear Mary speak of the struggle to maintain her integrity as a midwife trained to preserve life. The dates and locations of the talks will be: Monday 19 October 2015 – 7pm York University P/L/006 (Ground Floor) Exhibition Centre University of York Heslington York YO10 5DD Tuesday 20 October 2015 – 8pm The Hand & Heart pub, Nottingham 65 – 67 Derby Road Nottingham NG1 5BA Wednesday 21 October 2015 – 7.30pm Cardiff University Catholic Chaplaincy Newman Hall University Catholic Chaplaincy Colum...

Mikey relaxing in anticipation of the brain food he was about to ingest. It is so wonderful to be a father. Every stage of parenthood is different and with a sixteen and a eighteen year old at the top end of the family age group, I find myself challenged regularly as they form their ideas and test them against the logic and reason in my arguments. I think this helps me grow as a person as well as facilitating a constant development of ideas against new and sometimes challenging perspectives and scenarios. Of course, not everything they encounter is new and innovative and often the discussion will revolve around perennial problems and issues we are all familiar with. This weekend one of my boys dragged me along to a Pro-life conference where we both tested our knowledge and understanding of some of the most important issues we face in society today. So I write this as I have just returned from Southport and the SPUC (the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child) 2015 Youth ...

You may recall a petition to thank Cardinal Burke for his wonderful , inspiring leadership, was arranged by Lifesite News a while ago. Yesterday they posted a video on Youtube of Cardinal Burke's response when presented with the petition of support. Cardinal Burke has never ceased to be a constant source of spiritual inspiration for me and has always had the reputation of being Catholic; no ifs, no buts. He does not prevaricate or make excuses, he starts with the faith, and then applies it with mercy to people's lives. Whenever I have heard him talk, it has struck me how he has a gift for explaining difficult teachings of the Church with utter clarity, and in a context that shows that the teaching is not a weapon or a tool used to attack others, rather it is the truth about our lives that, applied with caritas , brings us to a closer relationship with God. The more I hear about Cardinal Burke, the more I hear about his compassion and mercy. His vocation lived out every...

There have been a couple of really quite serious disagreements in the Pro-Life movement over the last few days. First of all, John Smeaton, Director of SPUC . On his personal blog, he asserted that Bishops everywhere should follow the Nigerian bishop's lead in defense of families. Smeaton stated that, as a Catholic, a parent, and a pro-life leader "Standing up against the worldwide homosexual agenda is crucial for the protection of children."   Smeaton goes on to explain that  SPUC have produced a paper about the impact that same-sex marriage will have on schools, yet he fears that many Catholic schools are also likely to be open to the homosexual agenda. I have to concur, most people are really struggling to understand why there is a problem with SSM, indeed, in America, it is said that Catholics are the greatest supporters of SSM! Why? Well, I think the first reason is that we all want to live and let live. Our first disposition is to charity, and shou...

On Monday, my wonderful Parish Priest contacted me in a panic. He had been contacted by the local paper and asked to write something on the Catholic position regarding locked in syndrome. Basically, a reporter was writing a 'for and against' feature on the issues raised by the national case of Tony Nicklinson, a sufferer of 'locked-in-syndrome' who is fighting for a change in the law so that a doctor can lawfully help him to die. After an extremely busy weekend, Fr. Kevin had run out of time to respond, and asked me to step in and produce something by 4pm. Once I got over my initial panic, I looked up the CDF Declaration on Euthanasia  in order to re-appraise myself of the salient points of the argument. Read through, made some notes and then put finger to keyboard. Having finished, I contacted my friend Caroline Farrow , who is far more media savvy than I am, for advice on getting the article vetted. She said she'd have a look for me and suggested I contacted SP...