Bishop’s Column
Welcome Fr. Pius Augustine Valummelmalayil, OSB
I warmly welcome Fr. Pius into the diocese. He will reside in the
presbytery at Holy Cross, Gendros. He has arrived from the Monastery of
Makiyad, in India; he belongs to the same community as Fr Cyril, and
will be a very welcome co-worker. His arrival has made it possible for
the diocese to start on an exciting new venture of which I will write a
few words, after I have given the new appointments, below.
Parish Appointments
Fr. Bernard Norris and Fr. Sean Clancy will very soon be reaching their
75th birthdays. They have both asked, as they reach the normal statutory
age, if they could retire, and I have agreed to their request. Both have
been outstanding pastors of their flocks, first in the Archdiocese of
Cardiff for Fr Sean and in the old Diocese of Menevia (now Wrexham) for
Father Bernard, and then, from 1987, in the newly formed diocese of
Menevia. Tributes to them will appear, in good time, nearer the date of
their actual retirement. Provision therefore has had to be made for Our
Lady Star of the Sea, Mumbles and St. Therese, Sandfields, and this
will, of course, involve a number of other changes and new appointments.
In consultation with the Chapter, and with all the priests concerned,
the following have accepted their new appointments:
| |
New Appointment |
Parish |
 Monsignor Brian Kinrade |
Mumbles |
| Fr. John Dermody |
Tenby Parish |
| Fr. John Patrick Thomas |
Pembroke Dock |
| Fr. Paul Brophy |
Sandfields |
New Pastoral Area
The retirement of Frs. Sean Clancy and Bernard Norris has prompted us to
examine how to manage with a slightly diminished number of Priests. With
the concentration of parishes in the Swansea area, and therefore its
greater number of Priests, any contractions must begin there. However,
what this necessity has done, at the same time, is given us the
opportunity to start a new and exciting prospect: the creation of a
pastoral area. With the arrival of Fr. Pius as a companion to Fr. Cyril
and in view of the proximity to each other of the following four
parishes we are creating the new pastoral area of the parishes of:
Danygraig
Gendros
Landore
Townhill
These will retain their status as independent parishes canonically but
will be served by Frs. Cyril and Pius assisted by the Rev Peter Hounslow
as Permanent Deacon (with special care for St Peter's.) Holy Cross and
St Illtyd's are blessed with religious Sisters, whose assistance in both
parishes is absolutely invaluable. I am actively looking for a religious
presence for the presbytery at Townhill, who will fulfil the same
function. All those involved in this new venture are enthusiastic about
its prospects. I am sure that this is the best way to keep the parishes
independent and yet attend to their pastoral needs.
Vocations
Please continue to pray for more vocations from our Diocese. I know that
God answers our prayers. For many years now we have been saying our
diocesan prayer for vocations. I am delighted to be able to announce
that either two or three candidates, to start their studies for the
priesthood are in the final stages of their application. All other
things being equal, they should be starting their studies with the
propaedeutic year at the English and Welsh College in Valladolid, in
Spain.
Ordination
An ordination, in any diocese, is an important event. On the 31st May,
at 11.30, I will be ordaining Phillip Harries to the Priesthood in the
Cathedral. This is the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin
Mary. Phillip is a native of Llandybie, near Ammanford, in our Diocese.
His journey to the priesthood has been a long one, and at times one of
great soul-searching. He has now finished his studies at Oscott College,
and is ready for ordination; it is a great blessing for the diocese, and
it will be my privilege to ordain him. All of you are welcome to the
ceremony, and to the buffet which will follow it in the Cathedral Parish
Hall. Do come and support Phillip on his very special day.
World Youth
We have a small group of around 15 young people who are going to Sydney,
for the World Youth Day celebration, under the leadership of Father Neil
Evans and Sister Angela Murray. For obvious reasons, this is a much
smaller group than that which went to Cologne; but then, it is
considerably further, and considerably more expensive. They have had to
dig deep, and work very hard to be able to manage the financial demands
made by this trip. Some of them are still struggling a bit, and any
financial assistance for them would be welcome. Any contributions,
however modest, should be sent to Sister Angela Murray at the Curial
Office.
Mark OSB
Bishop of Menevia
From the Bishop – A Message for Holy Week and
Easter 2008
It is surprising how quickly time seems to have flown this year; with
Lent so early, we now find ourselves about to move into Holy Week, when
we shall be commemorating the events of that first Holy Week when Jesus,
obedient to the Father's will, accepted to suffer and die for our
salvation.
Lent is a time when the Church gives us an invitation to renew our
lives, to change direction away from sinfulness and selfishness, and I
hope that, so far, your journey has been a profitable one. When Easter
comes, I wonder, will it find us successful or having failed in our
Lenten resolutions - will it be followed by an almost inevitable
relaxation because Lent is over, and we can go back happily to our old
ways. Is that what Lent has been all about for you? I hope not; I do
hope that your approach to Lent has been a little more positive. You
see, in this Holy Season we are challenged to create a new heart within
ourselves. Lent has been a call and an invitation from God which is both
a grace and a challenge. It was given to us, and the offer, so to speak,
is still on the table, that we may hear Jesus' call anew and that the
seed of renewal and transformation may truly grow in us. The call is not
intended to end on Easter Sunday; no, indeed, it should culminate on
that day with our celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord when we
are strengthened and we set off again, renewed and full of the joy of
the Lord, as the Disciples were.
I have been right round the Diocese celebrating with the clergy of
various deaneries at the Station Masses. As always, it has been a great
privilege and a pleasure to meet you all again. Now, I would like to ask
you if you can do something else, in the near future. I do hope that as
many of you as possible will be able to attend the Solemn Mass of Chrism
in the Cathedral, on Wednesday 19th March. This Mass will be attended by
all the priests of our Diocese, who will concelebrate with me. At that
Mass, the priests will all renew their promises to serve you, the People
of God, as faithfully as the day they first made these promises, at
their ordination. It would be a tremendous encouragement to all of them
to have your support on that most important day in the year, when they
re-dedicate themselves to your service. I know how much you all
appreciate what they do for you; here is an opportunity for you to show
them your gratitude. At that same Mass of Chrism, the Holy Oils are
blessed. These oils will be used for the coming year, in the whole of
our Diocese, for Baptisms, Confirmations, Ordinations and for anointing
of the sick. This Mass of Chrism is a culmination to all the Station
Masses, when people of many different parishes are united together with
the Bishop. These celebrations are a very important reminder of the
`Oneness' of our Catholic Church. It is so easy for us human beings to
form communities that are a little inward-looking and perhaps even a
shade exclusive! The Station Masses and even more so the Chrism Mass,
are a sign that the parishes and the Deaneries are truly Catholic -
fully in communion with each other because they are fully in communion
with the Bishop.
In these last few days before Holy Week, God calls us at this privileged
time to be especially conscious of the sacrifice His Son made for us,
and of the way we can respond. He asks us to renew our own personal
commitment as Christians, conscious of the Mission to which we were
called at our Baptism and Confirmation. It is through this renewal of
ours that the Church will then truly be a sign of God's powerful love
and mercy, transforming humanity's brokenness, making it whole in Christ
Jesus.
Please pray for vocations to the priesthood and the religious life,
especially in our Diocese. God does not abandon his People; and,
already, in answer to your prayers, we have had some applications, both
for this year and the next, for men to test their vocation to the
priesthood. I am hoping some will start that journey in September.
Finally, I am happy to give you notice that on the 31st May I will be
ordaining Phillip Harries to the priesthood, in the Cathedral. Phillip
is a native of Llandybie, near Ammanford. As many of you as would like
to attend will be most welcome.
I wish you all a good and fruitful Holy Week and a very Happy Easter. As
I have some 20 Confirmations this year, I may well have the pleasure of
seeing many of you again very soon.
God bless you
Mark OSB
Bishop of Menevia
From the Bishop, December 2007
This message comes with my very best wishes to you all for a very Happy
and Holy Christmas. As we settle down to our Christmas Meal, with all
the members of our family around us, the many and apparently unsolvable
problems of the world may well recede in our minds; we will be able to
enjoy the moment, savour the togetherness and the affection with our
loved ones around us. But we will know that the reality of our personal
situation and that of our world will be just round the corner, and will
come sooner or later to haunt us again: mankind’s greed and inhumanity,
cruelty and selfishness, corruption and deceit. When faced with what we
see portrayed on television, written in the newspapers and even
experience ourselves in our lives, we could be forgiven for thinking of
giving in to despair. Yet, in the face of all the arguments that
threaten to destroy the hopes of mankind in our materialistic and
sometimes amoral world, the Holy Father gives us his thoughts in his
latest Encyclical ‘Spe Salvi’. This letter, which was given to us just
before the beginning of Advent on the Feast of St Andrew, explores the
theme of salvation and the hope offered by Christianity in the light of
modern philosophy and contemporary culture. Its title comes from St.
Paul’s letter to the Romans, in which he said: “For in hope we have been
saved.”
Our Lady of Holy Hope
Pope Benedict’s first encyclical
in 2006, ‘Deus Caritas Est’ (‘God Is Love’), called for a deeper
understanding of love as a gift from God in which we are invited to
share in a self-sacrificial way; a direct response to Christ’s
invitation to take up our cross and follow him. Then, leading up to the
present letter, the pope has spoken about the importance of the virtue
of hope on several occasions. In 2005, speaking to Mexican bishops on
their ‘ad Limina’ visits to Rome, told them that: “Confronted by today’s
changing and complex panorama, the virtue of hope is subject to harsh
trials in the community of believers. For this very reason, we must be
apostles who are filled with hope and joyful trust in God's promises”
and, “in contemporary society, which shows such visible signs of
secularism, we must not give in to despair or a lack of enthusiasm in
pastoral projects”. He now develops this theme fully in ‘Spe Salvi’.
Like everything which the Holy Father has given us, it is an academic
and well-researched work; it may be a little scholarly especially where
it goes into the realms of philosophical explanation; but it is
well-worth reading and pondering on, as it develops the concept of
Christian Hope which so differs from human hopes to which we are all so
easily given. I will not attempt to paraphrase this Encyclical for you;
I just want to say that it is well worth reading. But I would just like
to enlarge on that Chapter of it entitled ‘The true shape of Christian
hope’, which encompasses sections 24 to31 because it struck a very
special note with me.
Oddly enough, this part brought
back to my mind my trip to the Lebanon and Syria, when we visited the
Khiam prison museum, in South Lebanon, which was one of the most graphic
and disturbing reminders we had of Lebanon’s recent troubled history. As
we were shown around the prison, we learned how Mossad used local
Lebanese soldiers (Christian and Moslem) to do their dirty work in the
prison; and our guide, who was a prisoner for two and a half years, gave
us graphic descriptions of the tortures which were inflicted on men and
women alike; he had to watch his sister being tortured, and he showed us
the pole from which he was made to hang upside down, blindfolded, and
the tiny room where it was impossible even to sit down, into which he
was put in solitary confinement for three months. I asked him how it was
possible to put up with that kind of treatment without giving up or
going mad; his answer was simply: “Hope is the last thing to disappear”.
He was not talking there of mere ephemeral hopes, the kind to which we
are all subject every day, but of a deeper and more lasting hope. A
hope, which the two disciples on the road to Emmaus had not thought of,
so busy were they with their own private little concerns.
You will remember the scene: these two disciples were walking along the
way. And we are told that their faces were downcast, dejected; they were
despondent. What it came down to, as we see over and over again in life
when we build-up our expectations, often these are misplaced hopes.
These two had certain expectations: we had been hoping that he would
have been the one to redeem Israel powerful in word and action - we had
been hoping; possibly the saddest words in scripture. Yes, these two had
hopes, but they did not have hope; and there’s a big difference. Both
deal with the future, in radically different ways. Hopes are something
like a weathercock, waving with every new breeze that comes along,
shifting all the time; but the symbol of hope is the anchor. There is a
passage in Hebrews Chapter 6 which says: So when God desired to show
more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character
of his purpose, he interposed with an oath, so that through two
unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God should prove
false, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to
seize the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast
anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner shrine behind the
curtain. So, Jesus Christ is described as the anchor thrown into
eternity, and he is pulling us towards him. It is worth reflecting on
this. You see, these two disciples were earthbound in their horizons;
there is nothing sadder than an earthbound humanist, particularly when
the subject of suffering or death comes up. You cannot conjugate hope in
the past tense (‘I hoped that…’); when you do, you know that what you
had were hopes and not hope. Hope is what is left when my merely
terrestrial hopes have been shattered. It is the difference between a
certain expectation (for example: I can’t wait for the solution to this
particular problem which is troubling me now, which will solve all my
difficulties and boost my expectations) and a calm contemplation, a
conviction, based on a promise made by God. Christian hope is not the
attempt to pierce through the future and to rob it of its mystery - the
Christian who is filled with real Christian hope does not make the
irritating claim to know more about the future than others. At night, as
we look back at the day, and we say ‘I have been a little bit depressed
today’, if we ask ourselves why – almost inevitably it is because we had
been hoping for something, and God did not follow our particular
scenario. It is a very misleading coinage that reads `In God we trust -
so long as he does exactly what we want him to’; that is counterfeit
money. So, as we look at these two disciples, we see them very gloomy
here - looking to the future, but with a very short horizon. Hope, real
Christian hope, you know, is the dynamic of the human personality, and
any self-respecting psychologist will never take on anyone unless there
is a spark of hope there; hope is the mainspring of the human person;
but, the Holy Father suggests in his Encyclical, we want to make sure
that it is not counterfeit. When we look at these two individuals,
walking along on the road to Emmaus, I think we can all alike say to the
Lord, “I am very much like them”; our prayer ought to be very honest -
we must talk to the Lord in our own way, about what really matters to us
personally, and we can only do that if we are honest; and if we are, I
don’t know about you, but I must say that at times in my life, and
perhaps too often, I have rested on hopes and been disappointed, rather
than had true hope.
So, my wish for you all is a Holy
and Happy Christmas filled with true Christian Hope. God bless you all.
Mark OSB
Bishop of Menevia
Menevia News – Bishop’s article September 2007
Before the Poor Clares left us in March I gave them a promise that I
would go and visit them in their new home. By arrangement with them we
settled that I should visit them on the 27th June. So, I organised my
trip to fly from Cardiff to Glasgow on the 26th with a return on the
evening of the 27th. On the preceding Friday I had a phone call from
Sister Clare to give me the sad news that Sister Joseph had died that
morning. The fact that I would be there on the following Wednesday
therefore proved to be providential, since it enabled me to attend the
funeral. When consulted, Bishop Joseph Devine of Motherwell said he
would be delighted if I could celebrate the Mass and do the funeral. God
works in the most mysterious ways; and it was, therefore, my great
privilege to both visit the sisters and be chief celebrant at Sister
Joseph’s funeral. The text of my homily and the last photo of her are
also in this issue of Menevia News. But now, let me say a few words
about my visit.
Mother Abbess of Bothwell kindly
arranged for someone to meet me at Glasgow Airport, and take me to where
I had organised to stay overnight, near the monastery; and I was able to
see some very good friends who live in Glasgow that evening. I was duly
collected in the morning, and taken to Bothwell, where the sisters were
waiting for me. Compared with the monastery in Neath, their new home is
very modern and comfortable. Their Community room is comfortable and
very inviting, looking out onto their lovely garden; the grounds are
extensive and a lovely lawn, bordered by flower-beds and paths, extend
most of the way round the property. The cemetery where Sr Joseph now
rests is within this area, and other sisters of the Bothwell community
are buried there.
On arrival, I had a time with our
sisters from Neath; then Mother Abbess came in and welcomed me. She is
obviously a wonderfully friendly and loving mother to her community, and
she has made our dear sisters most welcome and totally at home. I am so
grateful to her; I must confess I was somewhat apprehensive, but I need
not have been and I now know that I can stop worrying, knowing that our
sisters are in very good hands. After a short preparation for the
ceremony, I met the Parish Priest of the parish attached to the
monastery, who invited me to sit in his presbytery until the beginning
of the Mass. I am not sure what I expected, but the Church was virtually
full for the Mass and funeral; it is obvious that the community are both
well known and popular; but it was lovely to see them all come and
support the new-comers from far-away Wales. Not only were there many in
the congregation, some eighteen or so priests of the Diocese came and
concelebrated – again, a great welcome and a wonderful support for the
sisters; Bishop Joseph Devine also came, and attended the Mass in the
Congregation. To all of you a very sincere thank you for demonstrating
so eloquently that you have welcomed us into your diocese! I was also
most impressed and moved that Angela and Geoff Bradley came over,
overnight, by car and were there at the funeral; an epic journey,
undertaken after Geoff had returned from work; the sisters were most
touched, they had a representation from their Neath friends.
After the funeral, we had lunch followed by a short rest; then
photographs, by the statue of the Sacred Heart, which had been shipped
from Neath, and now has pride of place in the garden. Then we had a
lovely conversation with all the members of the community, in the
community room, full of joy, humour and friendliness. I was really quite
sorry to leave them and make my way back to Swansea. But I have promised
that I will visit them again; and so I shall!
My very
special thanks goes to all the sisters in the monastery, who have made
our sisters feel so welcome and so much at home. I know that there will
be difficult times occasionally, both for you and for our sisters –
indeed, there may already have been some – but what you have done in
welcoming the Neath community in your family will be blessed by God and
He will reward you all.
God bless you. Until we see each other again!
Mark OSB
Bishop of Menevia
Chrism Mass 2007 Homily
Fellow Priests and my brothers and sisters in Christ
My two main activities this Lent, as those of you will know if you read
my engagements, have been to visit all your Deaneries for the Station
Masses and to invite in turn all the priests working in our diocese to
Bishop’s House in small groups for Lectio Divina, Mass, Lunch and a
general discussion. I want to say how grateful I am to you all for your
willing cooperation and your input on all these occasions. I felt the
unity of the diocese abundantly expressed in all these meetings. It now
comes to a fuller expression in today’s ceremony, when we share once
again in a visible way the unity of the Church. The priests, all your
pastors, have come together around their Bishop, so that we might show
forth our unity in the one priesthood of Jesus Christ. And, gathered
around us are all of you, Christ's faithful, united also with Christ, in
the common priesthood of all the baptised. And why, especially are we
all gathered here, in the Cathedral Church of our Diocese? Today’s
Liturgy expresses this in a very eloquent way.
My dear
fellow priests, the Opening Prayer of our Mass tells us that Jesus
Christ was anointed Messiah and Lord of creation by the Heavenly Father.
For us who have been given the Ministerial Priesthood, Jesus'
consecration was shared with us at the moment of our priestly
ordination. We are set apart as servants of Christ, bringing to God’s
people the salvation which Christ has won for us all. It is Our Lord, in
the gospel, who recalls the words we heard in our first reading by the
prophet Isaiah. As his anointed priests, we can gratefully say
especially today: "The spirit of the Lord is upon me; therefore he has
anointed me. He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor, to
proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind and release
to prisoners, to announce a year of favour from the Lord." Such thoughts
must today once again, as at the day of our ordination, fill our hearts
with immense gratitude to God for the gift of our priesthood and make us
sing with real feeling the beautiful words of the Responsorial Psalm: "I
will sing forever of your love, O Lord." In our very busy lives there is
a danger that we might take our priesthood for granted. Today’s ceremony
is therefore, a wonderful opportunity for us to pause and think, before
willingly and lovingly re-dedicating ourselves in the service of the
Lord and of His people. You and I are the instruments of God's grace for
our people. We may at times feel our unworthiness at the altar
especially when we are about to say the words of consecration. Yet we
know that God uses us priests to signify his presence to his people. Our
responsibility to be instruments of sacramental grace far outweighs our
unworthiness. This means that all of us must each day strive to be
worthy ministers of God’s grace. Remember what you and I heard at our
ordination ceremony "Imitate what you handle." As you will know, the
Holy Father has just issued his post-Synodal Exhortation Sacramentum
Caritatis. I ask each one of you to read a copy of it - it is the fruits
of the recent Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist. One of the things the
Holy Father emphasises is how vital it is to show forth through our
celebration of the Mass - the beauty of that mystery; and he says that
the way we say Mass: "is no mere aestheticism, but the concrete way in
which the truth of God’s love in Christ encounters us, attracts us and
delights us." And again he says: "Beauty is not mere decoration, but
rather an essential element of the liturgical action, since it is an
attribute of God himself and his revelation. These considerations should
make us realize the care which is needed, if the liturgical action is to
reflect its innate splendour." My brother priests, we cannot therefore,
ever consider the saying of Mass as routine; and our actions must always
endeavour both to warm the hearts of the faithful and to bring them into
an active participation in the mystery, whether they physically take an
active part or not.
It is fitting that I should here
express my deep gratitude to you all, the priests and religious working
in our diocese. Your devotion and your love for the people of God is
manifested in so many ways. You are the ones to whom the people turn in
their needs; in times of joy and in times of sorrow, you are with them.
They rely on you and your invariable devotion and willingness is the
generous daily response to your calling. Since last year’s Chrism Mass,
there have been a few changes. Father Michael Donnellan has retired, and
Fathers Des Hanrahan and Henry Greystone have been withdrawn by their
Provincial. I thank them all for their commitment and their service to
the Church of Menevia. I welcome to the diocese Fathers Mark Byrne, Paul
Brophy and Christopher Wyvill who are now working in the Diocese. In the
various parishes which they serve, they have already been welcomed with
open arms, and proved to be invaluable additions. I also thank Sisters
Carmel and Lily, who have so willingly moved to St Illtyd’s, and are
already making a very significant contribution. We bade a sad farewell
to the Poor Clares at Neath; they have been such an asset to the diocese
for over 50 years. I had a card from Mother Clare, the Abbess,
yesterday, telling me that they are settling well in their new monastery
at Bothwell.
This summer will see three diaconal
ordinations. One of them, of Phillip Harries will be at Ammanford; he
will then complete his course at Oscott College and be ordained Priest
the year after. Peter Hounslow and Tony Lawrence have received the Minor
Orders, and I will be ordaining the as Permanent Deacons here, in the
Cathedral on Saturday 30th June. I hope that as many of you as possible
will attend - you are most cordially invited.
My dear
people, we the priests of our diocese are celebrating the Eucharistic
Sacrifice, that Sacrament which especially makes the Church. But in this
Chrism Mass the other sacraments are also taken into its embrace,
pointing as they do to that Sacrament which is Christ himself; and
re-emphasising that all the sacraments flow from that one same Sacrament
of Love. These come to us in the oils that we bless at this Chrism Mass.
The Sacrament of Baptism is represented in the Oil of Catechumens, used
to prepare those to be received for the water of rebirth. The Sacred
Chrism which will anoint the newly-baptised, and seal with the Holy
Spirit those who receive the Sacrament of Confirmation; it will also
anoint the hands of priests at their ordination and the heads of bishops
at their consecration. For this blessing you will see that the priests
present join with their bishop in consecrating the Sacred Chrism because
they share in the sacred office of the bishop in building up,
sanctifying, and ruling the People of God. Finally, the Oil of the Sick
is blessed to bring healing grace, comfort and support to the sick in
their infirmity, and to be for the dying their final sealing in Christ.
All of these, as I said, come to us and flow from that one fountain, the
Sacrament of God’s love for us, the Eucharist. It can therefore truly be
said, as the Holy Father tells us in Sacramentum Caritatis, that "the
Eucharist is at the root of every form of holiness."
Today’s second reading is not just addressed to us priests, but to you
the whole people of God; it speaks to you especially today my dear
people. It tells you that Jesus Christ, who died for us has made all of
us "priests of the Lord" consecrated through the sacraments of
initiation to bear witness to the power, the beauty, the truth and the
love of God in the world in which we live. In your marriage and
families, in your school and your workplace, your sporting and leisure
activities, in all that you are and do, you are the apostles of Christ
and his witnesses in this world to the world of higher things which is
his eternal Kingdom. This, of course means that you are expected to be
involved participants, not inactive bystanders, in that drama which is
working itself out in the world of politics, and the vast drama of human
society which bears in upon you from the pages of the newspaper and the
images of the TV screen. If Christ today has any voice, and hands and
feet, any presence at all in this world which he desires to save, it is
only through you that he can speak, through your presence that he can be
there. You will see from your Order of Service that you are called to
participate by answering at the renewal of promises. Need I add that
this witness to which you are called demands extraordinary courage,
because if we take our baptismal vows seriously we find ourselves very
quickly at odds with the standards and values of a materialistic world.
That is the challenge with which we are all faced today. And so, I ask
you, my dear people of Menevia, Please pray for us your priests in this
Mass with a special fervour, that the Lord will keep us, as Pope
Benedict exhorts us in Sacramentum Caritatis, as holy as the actions we
perform day by day in your service. And add a prayer of gratitude to God
for all that your priests mean to you, for the priestly service and
leadership they have given you over a lifetime, and will do till the
end. Pray also for more vocations to the priesthood and the religious
life - you will find cards of our diocesan prayer at the back of the
Cathedral; please take some and give them to others in your parishes.
Have a fruitful Holy Week, and may God bless you all.
Mark OSB
Bishop of Menevia
A 2007 Lenten Message from Bishop Mark
Here we are, once again, at the beginning of Lent, and our thoughts turn
to the best preparation we can make for the greatest Feast in the
Church’s Calendar, our celebration of the Resurrection of Christ. Is it
to be penance, self-denial, suffering, a period of unmitigated misery -
is that what we now picture, as we embark on our Lenten journey before
we can return to our self-indulgence on Easter Sunday?
Surely, we can do better than that, or are we really so conditioned to
look inwardly at ourselves that the whole object of any Lenten exercise
is a purely selfish one? To be sure, the Church encourages us to review
our lives during this Lenten period; but it does not do so in order to
make us even more selfish and self-centred. If our Lent is to be a
fruitful one, it should make us more aware of our calling as Christians
and bring us to a greater realisation of our own place in God’s ultimate
plan for the salvation of the world. God has chosen each and every one
of us for the furtherance of His Son’s work on earth. A sobering and
perhaps even frightening thought for us individually, if we consider our
weakness and our unworthiness; but that’s not God’s opinion - you see;
He trusts us, more than we trust ourselves. The Church’s call for a
conversion should not be misunderstood as an order to punish ourselves
just for the sake of it, because it is Lent. What God demands from each
and every one of us is love, and love must always be freely given. The
Church challenges us priests to allow our people to form their
conscience in freedom and in love rather than be coerced out of fear.
Pope Paul VI sounded that bell, 41 years ago with the marvellous
instruction he gave us called Paenitemini. In that
document he teaches the absolute need for penance in our lives.
Typically, the only thing the newspaper highlighted was ‘Catholics
can eat meat on Friday’ that’s the only thing most people know from
it. Why? Because Paul said: ‘look, we don’t want you to abstain from
meat on Friday out of fear from mortal sin. If you abstain, do it out of
love for your crucified Lord.’ so, what is the right attitude towards a
better understanding of any Lenten exercises? A short article like this
one would hardly do justice to answer such a question; all I will
attempt to do is to give you two ways in which you can respond to this
challenge this Lent. What we should aim at is lay the foundations for a
path which will improve my relationship with God, and help me to realise
what His mission is for me in our world.
One of the
most sincere cries from the heart which the disciples made to the Lord
was “Lord, teach us to pray”; perhaps this is one of the things we, the
clergy, have most neglected to do - we have preached at you, we have
ministered to you, but we have not managed to get you to develop a close
personal relationship with God. Teaching people to pray is not an easy
task; there are so many ways to pray, and private tuition even would
only partly achieve the result required. But, there are ways in which
all of us can make an effort to have a more intimate relationship with
God. If we make a determined effort at such important periods in the
Liturgical Year as Advent and Lent, for example, the likelihood is that
habits will begin to form, we will begin to understand better what God’s
plan for each and every one of us is, and we will be well on the way in
the process of learning how to pray. At the beginning of last Advent we
started a new venture in the diocese; in conjunction with the other two
dioceses in the Welsh Province we started subscribing to the “Walk with
me” publication, with our own Welsh version of it. These booklets take
us through the periods of preparation in Lent and Advent with daily
meditations; they do not amount to a treatise on prayer, no, that is not
their aim; but they do prompt us to set aside, each day, a short period
of time and devote it to prayer. If this begins to create a pattern in
our daily life for the rest of the year, it will mean the beginning of a
relationship with God, and a strong foundation to a life of prayer.
These books also have the advantage that they are excellent value at £1
each, and that, out of that pound each parish keeps fifty pence. I
commend them to you; they have been very popular in most parishes in
Wales, as they are throughout the United Kingdom. So much for me,
personally; now, what can I do for others – or rather, what would Christ
have me do for others?
Forty years ago, Pope Paul VI
issued an encyclical called Populorum Progressio in which he
called upon all people of goodwill to work for human development and
fight all kinds of injustice; it’s main thrust was that each one of us
is member of society, and as such a part of the whole of mankind. In it
he said "We have inherited from past generations, and we have benefited
from the work of our contemporaries: for this reason we have obligations
towards all, and we cannot refuse to interest ourselves in those who
will come after us to enlarge the human family. The reality of human
solidarity, which is a benefit for us, also imposes a duty… Increased
possession is not the ultimate goal of nations or of individuals. The
exclusive pursuit of possessions thus becomes an obstacle to individual
fulfilment and to our true greatness. Both for nations and for
individuals, avarice is the most evident form of moral
under-development". As long as 31 years ago the Holy Father was alerting
us to the fact that none of us is an island, and that we cannot wash our
hands about the plight of other nations of the world, especially Third
World nations. Not only is their survival our concern, it is a duty we
all share as children of God. Paul goes on: "The struggle against
destitution, though urgent and necessary, is not enough. It is a
question, rather, of building a world where every man, no matter what
his race, religion or nationality, can live a fully human life, freed
from servitude imposed on him by other men or by natural forces over
which he has not sufficient control; a world where freedom is not an
empty word and where the poor man Lazarus can sit down at the same table
with the rich man." We have heard an enormous amount about the harm we,
as a human race, have done to our planet; we have heard, and seen the
plight of many nations of our starving brothers and sisters in Christ;
we have even contributed to various fund-raising appeals in response to
disasters. But, how much more often have we wrung our hands in despair,
saying to ourselves "what can I, little me, do about it? My small effort
is practically worthless, in the grand scheme of things". Well, it need
not be.
One initiative which has sought to follow the
advice of Populorum Progressio in this the fortieth anniversary
of its publication is the Live Simply Challenge, which you
will find at the following Website:
www.livesimply.org.uk. Not only does it remind us of the importance
of the statement made forty years ago, of the further evidence of the
consequences of not heeding its advice, but also, it encourages us to
now take up the challenge and actually do something about it. Forty
years ago, Pope Paul reminded us that the earth was God’s creation, and
that He intended the whole world to share its fruits. Progress should
not be measured by personal economic wealth - an awareness to other
people’s needs should prompt us to actually do something to redress the
balance. The Live Simply Challenge translates that into a
possibility for each and every one of us to put into practice. I suggest
to you that it is probably an excellent and a very practical way to
actually get involved in a movement which will not just be confined to
me, this Lent.
So, these are my two suggestions
for your Lenten resolutions: learn to pray with Walk with me, and get
involved in the Live Simply Challenge project. And may you
all have a fruitful and deeply joyful Lent. God bless you all.
I remember when I was at Belmont, on Christmas eve we used to have the
Roman Martyrology for Christmas day; it is the Church's formal
announcement of the birth of Christ in the style of a proclamation and
it goes like this:
Today, the twenty-fifth day December,
unknown ages from the time when God
created heaven and earth and formed man in his own likeness.
Several thousand years after the flood,
when God made the rainbow shine as a sign of the covenant.
Twenty-one centuries from the time of
Abraham and Sarah; thirteen centuries
after Moses led the people of Israel out of Egypt.
Eleven hundred years from the time of
Ruth and the Judges; one thousand years
from them anointing of David as king; in
the sixty-fifth week according to the prophecy of Daniel.
In the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad;
the seven hundred and fifty-second year from the foundation of Rome.
The forty-second year of Octavian Augustus;
the whole world being at peace,
Jesus Christ, eternal God and Son of the eternal Father,
desiring to sanctify the world by his most merciful coming,
being conceived by the Holy Spirit, and nine months
having passed since his conception,
was born in Bethlehem of Judea of the Virgin Mary.
Today is the nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ according to the flesh.
In this short announcement, we have the history of our salvation and the
promise of the most important event for mankind. It links the past and
the Old Law to present time through that manifestation of God's infinite
love for mankind, and the length to which He will go in order to secure
our friendship. It places this event in its historical and chronological
context. And it tells us that from the creation of the world, the
covenant God made with man, the promise He made to Abraham, and His
foreshadowing through all the prophets, this is the event that happened,
and very specially, it is what we are celebrating on this day and at
this season.
Of this manifestation St Paul tells us:
When the kindness of and love of God our Saviour for mankind were
revealed, it was not because of any upright actions we had done
ourselves; it was for no reason except his own faithful love that he
saved us, by means of the cleansing water of rebirth and renewal in the
Holy Spirit which he has so generously poured over us through Jesus
Christ our Saviour; so that justified by his grace, we should become
heirs in hope of eternal life.
We have done
nothing to deserve it, yet today, the Light of Christ has dawned upon
the world; it did two thousand and six years ago; and it does, once
again today and at this season, upon our darkened world.
Isaiah the prophet foretold it in the following way: the people who
walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the
land of gloom a light has shone. Why? God becoming man made Him one
with us, and at the same time lifted us up, and once again made us one
with Him. By taking on our weakness, one of the Christmas prefaces tells
us, Christ now gives our mortal nature immortal value. In short we
become children of God. So, how can we devalue our worth, if in God's
eyes we are that important? For each and every one of us Christmas is
about God telling us "yes, you really do matter to me, every single one
of you, and I have sent my Son to share your life and to restore your
inheritance and your place in my Kingdom."
That is why
Christmas is such an important Feast for Christians; that is why it is
so essentially a Christian Feast. Also, the place that Mary and Joseph
have in the Christmas story makes it very much a very special time for
the family. Christmas is more than just a story that is told, more than
a birth which brings heaven right down to earth, more than the breaking
of the barrier between Creator and creature; it is a reminder also that
the child who was born on Christmas Day was the member of a human
family, and grew up as a part of that family. So, it is fitting that the
following Sunday we keep the Feast of the Holy Family. It is also very
fitting that we remember that at this time, and throughout the whole of
this season we should realise the sacredness of the family as the basic
unit of church life. Not only is it a time when we lay aside the
differences we may have in our family; it must also be a time when we
are able, in all openness and honesty, to reappraise the value and
quality of our own family life as a family and of the witness we give to
the world. God came down to us in love; family life should therefore be
a full-time job which is not so, much about parents and children living
under one roof as about their hearts beating together in harmony and
love; and that will only happen if the message of Christ in all its
richness is found within its walls.
The message of
Christmas is not only to be with us throughout the Christmas season, it
must extend into our New Year and permeate our lives. A wonderful
opportunity for us all in Menevia to reaffirm our commitment to our
families will be at the Family Mass on the 20th of January in the
Cathedral; it will also remind us of our individual place in God's
family. I invite you all to come to the Cathedral for the Mass and the
Reception afterwards, and I much look forward to seeing you there.
And may you all have a very blessed Christmas and the New Year be a
peaceful and loving one in your families and in your parish.
Mark OSB
Bishop of Menevia
Advent Message from Bishop Mark, read in all
churches in the diocese 9th/10th December 2006
In
his homily in Warsaw last May, the Holy Father told us that the modern
Church is faced with people or groups who obscure tradition, and so
"falsify the Word of Christ and remove from the Gospel those truths
which, in their view, are too uncomfortable for modern man," and he adds
that every Christian must “confront his own convictions continually with
the teachings of the Gospel and of the Church's Tradition in the effort
to remain faithful to the word of Christ, even when it is demanding and,
humanly speaking, hard to understand.” It was with these words that
Benedict XVI condemned the prevalent relativism of our day. Relativism
holds that truth or moral or aesthetic value, and therefore religious
belief, is not universal or absolute but may differ between individuals
or cultures. In this season of Advent we have the stark witness and
testimony of John the Baptist who is the embodiment of everything that
the Pope would wish all of us, every Christian, to be. He was a
counter-sign to the culture of his day; and this, nowadays is what we
should feel called to be ourselves. What was it about John the Baptist
that marked him out as different from the culture of his day?
Remember, his father, Zechariah had prophesied about John the Baptist:
“As for you, little child, You shall be called a prophet of God, the
Most High. You shall go ahead of the Lord To prepare his ways before
him, To make known to his people their salvation through forgiveness of
all their sins, The loving kindness of the heart of our God who visits
us like the dawn from on high.
He will give light to those in darkness, those who dwell in the shadow
of death, and guide us into the way of peace.”
Every
morning the Church puts that prayer on the lips of those who recite the
Divine Office, in the words of the Benedictus; you know, this is not
just addressed to priests, but to all of us, to give us a sense of
identity because it is a role description of who you and should be; each
one of us, a Christian, is a person sent from God, with a message to
God’s people. You see, God, filled with compassion for his people, is
saying: who will help me win back my people? And we cannot do
this by just conforming to the consumerist and materialistic culture of
our day.
What John is saying to the people is
Repent and believe; he did not tell them to revolt - you know why he
didn't? because he was a radical reformer; only a superficial reformer
says revolt. In his days, the enemy to be conquered was not a foreign
ruler, it was not the Roman Legions, no, it was the darkness in the
human heart that is, was and always will be until the end of time the
enemy to be conquered, and, of course, a radical reformer must always go
to the root.
There is a passage in Solzhenitsyn 's
Gulag Archipelago where he says I carried out of Siberia, on my bent
back, a new conviction: the line separating good and evil passes not
through states or between classes, or between political parties either,
but right through every human heart. Since then I have come to
understand the truth of all the religions of the world; they struggle
with the evil inside a human being, inside every human being. It is
impossible to expel evil entirely from the world, but it is possible to
constrict it within each person. And since that time I have come to
understand the falsehood of all the revolutions in history. They destroy
only those carriers of evil, contemporary with themselves, and they then
take to themselves and their heritage the actual evil itself magnified
still more. How very true this can be – if, in answer to God’s call,
we are really going to be radical reformers, we must go to the root:
pride, avarice, lust, gluttony, envy, anger, sloth - what we used to
call the seven deadly sins, but it sounded so medieval, we got rid of
them. Arguably, even these days, all the troubles of the world can be
reduced to the seven deadly sins. Now you and I, as John was, are called
to go to the root, the heart of the matter. Next week we will listen to
the stinging words of rebuke, a diatribe against the hypocrisy and pride
of the Pharisees. The program he laid out was Repent, turn away;
and as we will hear next week, it comes down to social justice: no
extortion, no violence, no theft - he is very, very demanding and yet
lenient; it's the hallmark of a true prophet, demanding on himself, his
own lifestyle, but very gentle and moderate with others. So, I suggest
that we dwell upon that: am I practicing authentic repentance, and
therefore being an example and a model to other people? why am I not, if
I am not? John is not just going after some superficial manifestation of
evil - he is going to the root of the matter.
He is
saying to them: believe; did John say believe that God exists?
that is such a silly thing for a Jew; he never asks the question: does
God exist? the Jew knows that God exists. But the question is, this God
who exists is he interested in us, is he concerned about us, is he
breaking into our world? and this is what John was saying: you had
better believe it; God is about to break into your world: The Kingdom
is at hand. Again, reflecting on ourselves, not only should we have
a sense of vocation, the way John did, being chosen by God, fashioned by
God, but do we really have the heart to repent and to believe? to
believe that God is ready to do something in me, something that's never
happened before? Unfortunately, the occupational hazard of being a
catholic these days is that we don't believe; ah, we believe that God
can touch the lives of others, but not ourselves. We see people moved,
but we remain untouched.
Going back to Pope Benedict’s
words, he says: "We must not yield to the temptation of relativism or of
a subjectivist and selective interpretation of Sacred Scripture. Only
the whole truth can open us to adherence to Christ, Who died and rose
for our salvation." He added: "Yet living one's personal faith as a
love-relationship with Christ also means being ready to renounce
everything that constitutes a denial of His love. Faith as adherence to
Christ is revealed as love that prompts us to promote the good inscribed
by the Creator into the nature of every man and woman among us, into the
personality of every human being and into everything that exists in the
world."
Mark OSB
Bishop of Menevia
From the Bishop, October 2006
On my travels round the Diocese I have often been asked about the well
publicised proposed new translation of the Missal. The type of questions
I have been asked are: When is it coming out? What will it be like? Why
do we need a new translation? Isn’t the one we have perfectly
satisfactory? Is it going to be compulsory? Who is in charge of
producing it? And indeed many other questions. I thought it would be
useful if I gave a little of the history, the difficulties which have
beset that history and the challenges which the translators are
currently facing in the production of a new translation.
First of all, let us see what brought about the need for translation of
the Missal. The first of all the documents to come out as a result of
the Second Vatican Council was the Decree called “Sacrosanctum Concilium”
and it dealt with the Liturgy. Something which had been devoutly hoped
for by many faithful was a vernacular liturgy, and that was exactly what
that Document, with the full approval of the Holy Father, now told the
Church to do. Although, initially, the document said: “since the use of
the mother tongue, whether in the Mass, the administration of the
sacraments, or other parts of the liturgy, frequently may be of great
advantage to the people, the limits of its employment may be extended”,
that was the beginning of a process of gradual introduction of
liturgical texts in the vernacular. However, as is obvious the
difficulties involved being numberless, it was decided, for English
translations, to entrust the initial production of a base text to a body
which was specially formed for this task; the body was called ICEL (the
International Commission on English in the Liturgy); I am sure most of
you will have heard of it. As well as that, it was agreed that the
proposed translation produced should be an interim one; the reasons for
that were that the Latin version at that time was only an interim
version. The Latin version of the Missal, which is now in force, is the
Third Edition of the Missal since the Council, and the translation,
which we use for Mass, is that of the First Edition – on its own,
therefore, that is a strong enough reason for a new translation. At the
time, it was felt that the desirability of implementing the Decrees and
of looking for a good and lasting translation was essential, but the
reality was that the need for something temporary, until a final
translation of the definitive version of the Missal was produced, was
desirable both to get the feeling of what was necessary, and what was
acceptable. The translation we have now is what came out of that
process. As and when the Second Edition of the Missal came out, similar
translations were produced by ICEL and approval from Rome for them was
sought. It was not granted; one of the reasons being that a third
edition was in preparation.
The way the process
actually functioned, and indeed still does, was that ICEL produced a
base text, which was in turn examined by individual Episcopal
Conferences who made the proper changes, adaptations and derogations to
conform with stylistic and grammatical demands of the country; the
translation then reached was then sent to Rome for approval. Rome, after
examining the translation would either suggest changes and then give
“recognition” or approval, or refused it; and until the recognition from
Rome, the text could not be used. In theory, at least, it was a nice
tidy and easy way of producing translations. In practice, it does not
quite work out that way. English, like all other languages, is an
evolving one; and literal translations of a Latin text can sound
archaic, old-fashioned and even downright unattractive. Following the
Council, a document called “Comme le prévoit” not only encouraged the
use of idiom, but paved the way for what is known as dynamic equivalence
or rendering the content and meaning of a text while reshaping its form
in order to conform to current idiom. I will not go into the rights or
wrongs of the way the whole of the process which ensued. However, it was
the beginning of a difficult period in relations and the refusal by Rome
to grant recognition to any translations that had been initiated by
ICEL. That period eventually culminated in the publication of an
Instruction from Rome which was issued by the Congregation for Divine
Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, with the approval of Pope
John Paul II which determined exactly how translation should be
produced. The name of that Instruction is “Liturgiam Authenticam”.
Again, I don’t think it would be profitable for me to examine too
closely what that document says, and the rights and wrongs of the
criticism that accompanied its publication. It remains that what was
asked for of translations was a greater faithfulness in translation of
the Latin texts, for it was felt that the translations we use at present
do not actually hand on the tradition of prayer which is found in the
Latin Missal.
ICEL had, for some 30 years, performed a
very difficult task. It had opened the door for the possibility of the
production of a lasting and definitive translation of the Missal; in its
initial form, it had fulfilled its purpose and paved the way for what we
must all hope will be a rich, faithful, proclaimable and theologically
sound translation of that most important of all Celebration of our
religion, the Mass, the Mystery of our Redemption. The new membership of
ICEL, which was substantially changed and is now guided by the
principles of Liturgiam Authenticam, is at present producing
translations which are being examined by all English speaking
Conferences; it owes, however, an enormous debt to its former members
without whose erudition, and dedication their present task would have
been even more difficult. Earlier this summer bishops of eight
English-speaking countries approved that portion of the Third Edition of
the Roman Missal which ICEL have produced; so, we are well on the way
for this new translation.
So, now we come to some of
the questions at the beginning of this article. Do we really need this
translation? Won’t the one we are used to and have got to love do? Well,
there is no doubt that the texts we use now have become very much a part
of our life – and, of course, with the Mass it is not just a matter of
knowing the texts off by heart, we have learnt how to pray them. Yes,
that is very true, and it is undoubtedly going to be a sacrifice to let
them go, for all of us – but don’t forget, hard not least for us all,
priests. I remember, having said Mass in Latin for 10 years, how hard I
found it to change over to English; but somehow, I don’t feel that this
coming change will involve anywhere near as great an adjustment. Then,
as I said above, the Latin Missal which is now in use differs from the
one whose translation we are using – ours is the First Edition; the
Third Edition was approved by Pope John Paul II on the 16th March 2002.
When will this new translation come out, and will it
then be compulsory? As to the second part of the question, the answer is
quite simply yes, it has to be. Why? You can imagine the chaos there
would be if it were not; and how poorly it would demonstrate the
universality of the Church; and that is why what is aimed for across
English-speaking countries is one single unified translation. As to the
first part of the question – I know that the process cannot be rushed;
it is a definitive translation that we need, one that will last.
Therefore, it must take as long as it will for such a work to be
produced. It would never do to make a halfhearted attempt which would
need revision almost immediately. I would estimate that the process of
approval, first of all by Episcopal Conferences, then by Rome, is
unlikely to be less than another two to three years.
A
great deal more can be said about the translation which is at present in
preparation; but what I have said will have to be sufficient to give you
a general idea and an outline of why it is not only desirable, but
necessary. If you are interested the Internet can give you a great deal
more detailed and erudite accounts of the whole process.
Mark OSB
Bishop of Menevia
From the Bishop, August 2006
August is traditionally a time when most people take their annual
holiday. I would, first of all therefore, like to wish all those of you
who are taking a well-earned rest from your normal work, a time of
refreshment and recuperation. This is a very good time to strengthen the
bonds of family life through relaxation together; and I do commend it to
you, through prayer and sharing as well. In our busy lives it is often
difficult to see the wood for the trees, and we tend to neglect the fact
that, as families, both of blood relation, and in our parishes, we need
to work at it, as in other things in life.
Poor
Clare Convent, Neath
It is with great sadness that
I have to announce that the Community of Poor Clares at Neath have made
the decision to amalgamate with another Convent. Diminishing numbers and
age have dictated that it would be unwise for them to continue as a
community. An invitation came to them from the Poor Clare Convent in
Bothwell, in the Diocese of Motherwell, in Scotland, and they have
accepted. They will, therefore, be leaving our Diocese, sometime towards
the end of this year. I, personally, and indeed the whole of the Diocese
will be very sorry to lose them. Contemplative monasteries are always a
tower of strength in any Diocese, and the presence of the Poor Clares,
first of all in the Archdiocese as it then was, and then in our Diocese
has been an immense blessing. I am sure they will not forget us in their
daily prayers, and I ask you all to remember them very especially at
this difficult and most important time for them.
Papal Nuncio
Archbishop Faustino Sainz Munoz,
the Apostolic Nuncio, came to the Diocese to celebrate the 50th
anniversary at the annual Procession and Pilgrimage of Our Lady of the
Taper in Cardigan. He took the opportunity of paying us a Pastoral
Visit. He presided at the Ascension Day Mass in the Cathedral, met the
people afterwards, and then had lunch with the Clergy and Religious of
the Diocese. He also visited our two monasteries of nuns, in Neath and
Whitland. Caldey was also on the agenda, but as the weather for the
return journey was by no means certain, prudence dictated that we missed
out the trip to the Island.
Carmarthen
The Provincial of the Marists has
informed me that the Marist Fathers will have to withdraw from the
Parish of Carmarthen before the end of this year. As you well know, the
diminishing number of priests will make this a difficult decision. Quite
apart from the fact that they are greatly loved, and will be sorely
missed, this will probably mean that I shall have to ask some others of
you in the Diocese to accept and enforced change of personnel. I know
you will understand that it is something that is outside my control. I,
on my side, understand the sacrifice some of you might be asked to make
and thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
We will be very sorry to lose the Marist Fathers; but I am delighted to
be able to announce that the Sisters have been able to assure us of
their willingness to continue to serve in the diocese. I am in the
middle of consultation to see what is for the best for the future of the
Carmarthen Parish for their area of Pastoral work.
Finally, a quick word about my movements in the near future. On July the
15th, I shall be driving down to Lourdes, to join the Welsh National
Pilgrimage. It is a time I always much look forward to; not only because
I always enjoy being the Celebrant at the Youth International Mass, but
also because our Pilgrimage is always such a happy one. After that I
shall drive East, and meet with friends and other clergy for a holiday.
I will be back in the Diocese on the 22nd of August.
Have a good Summer, and may God bless you all.
Mark OSB
Bishop of Menevia
From the Bishop, May 2006
Bishop Mark’s Visit to Lebanon and Syria (Part 1)
I have just come back from a trip to the Lebanon and Syria where I went
as a member of a delegation of Christian Church leaders from Wales,
under the auspices of CYTUN and the Middle East Council of Churches. The
trip lasted 12 days; its aims were to learn more about the different
situations of Christianity and Islam in both countries, and their
implications for the wider region; to further the friendship with the
Middle East Council of Churches and to encourage the links already
existing between Wales and Syria and Lebanon. Needless to say, it was a
very enriching experience, on which I could reflect at some length.
However, the constraints of time and space mean that I can only offer a
general impression at this stage. In this first article I will talk of
our visit to Lebanon.
We arrived in Beirut at 2.00 am
only to find out that we had no one to meet us; Roger our driver, had
problems with the fuel pump on his mini-bus on the way to the airport.
By the time we got to bed we could only look forward to a very short
night’s sleep, as our first meeting that morning was right at the other
end of Beirut, with Cardinal Sfeir, one of the most important
ecclesiastical figures in the region. We got caught up in the most
enormous traffic jam, not so much due to the rush hour as to a
demonstration outside the US Embassy, which meant that the police were
letting through single cars at a time through a road-block on the main
and only thoroughfare to our destination. Just as we were beginning to
think that our meeting would have to be cancelled, we heard that the
cardinal would still wait for us, but that our time would be limited. As
it happens, the appointment he had with a minister just after us was
also delayed because of the traffic, and we had over an hour with him.
Cardinal Sfeir, a lovely humble man, received us warmly and without the
usual formality. He is a major figure in the region, who is highly
respected by Christians and Muslims alike. He outlined for us the
present very delicate situation in relation to Syria; deplored the lack
of contact between church leaders and the government. He firmly believes
that religions in the Lebanon have lived together very successfully and
peacefully in the past, but that this state of affairs is severely
threatened when politics and power intrude. This is further complicated
since, by Lebanese Constitution, the President, the Prime Minister and
the Speaker of the House are chosen according to Confession – Maronite,
Suni Muslim and Shia Muslim respectively. (There is a saying, with which
I now have sympathy, that if you think you understand Lebanese Politics,
then you certainly haven’t understood). The Cardinal also spoke of
Muslim attitudes about the dangers of a Sharian Law State and society
which would certainly increase the already great danger of death to any
Muslim who openly converted to Christianity – he was quite open about
the difference there is between religion and belief in Lebanon,
especially for Islam. And finally, he expressed sadness at the lack of
religion in the West. All in all, a very full and informative start to
our trip, with a remarkable man, who, the day after we met him was off
to Rome for the Consistory.
Bishop Mark presenting a gift to Cardinal Sfeir
One other major Christian figure we met in Beirut was Catholicos Aram I.
We should have seen him immediately after our visit to Cardinal Sfeir,
but the congestion in town was so great that we had to postpone or
cancel; he graciously received us on the following Saturday morning. His
Holiness Aram I is an internationally recognised church leader. He was
first elected Moderator of the World Council of Churches in 1991 in
Canberra, and re-elected in Harare in 1998. Much of his political
outlook accorded with that of Cardinal Sfeir. However, his ecumenical
view, which he expounded to us with great feeling and enthusiasm, is
that churches can no longer take refuge in their own confessions and
live in self-isolation. He says it is essential for them to coexist;
otherwise, they cannot meaningfully exist. Likewise they must interact,
otherwise they cannot properly act. And, importantly, they must share
experiences and resources; otherwise they will not be able to grow
together towards visible unity. He acknowledges that growing together is
indeed a costly process, calling for conversion, renewal and
transformation. Hence, ecumenism can no longer remain a dimension or a
function of the church it must become a mark of what it means to be
church, simply because it affirms and serves the oneness of the church.
Furthermore, ecumenism is no longer a question of choice, but the way we
should respond to the call of God: being church is being ecumenical; in
other words, embarked on a common journey. He also emphasised to us that
he felt very strongly that the future of the ecumenical movement lies
with committed and visionary young people rather than with structures
and programmes. This last concept is an interesting and a challenging
one, one which I feel we should be making more of; but, as for the main
thrust of his theory on ecumenism, if we, in the West, would find it
hard to accept unequivocally, it was certainly our experience that most
of the different Christians confessions would think it totally
impossible to share anything Liturgical or doctrinal – fraternal
meetings and cordiality are shared in abundance but generally no
further. Funnily enough, I don’t know how deep this goes as far as the
ordinary people go. For example our mini-bus driver, Roger Koundakgian,
who is a Greek Orthodox and an intelligent man with a degree said to me:
“I don’t think Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant – no, I see a church, I
go in to pray to God – it does not matter what it is”; perhaps a more
practical and down to earth solution, but is it likely?
In Beirut, we visited the Near East School of Theology; its Principal Dr
Mary Mekhael outlined its work and showed us around. A great number of
Church leaders we met, both in Lebanon and Syria had studied there; it
runs many interesting and challenging seminars on Christian-Muslim
relations and does not seem to be afraid to face important and difficult
issues.
In the Near East School of Theology
There is a strong Armenian community in Beirut, and we met a number of
them in that quarter which they have made their little Armenia. Part of
the Armenian Orthodox Church in 1846 became the Armenian Evangelical
Church, and it spread round the Middle East, as a totally independent
Church which has some 25 Congregations through the Middle East and
beyond. The strength and vitality of this Church in Beirut is manifested
in its strong youth content, and the work which has been put in to
foster and encourage it; the Haigazian University, founded in 1955 by
the Union of Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East and the
Armenian Missionary Association of America as a liberal arts college to
assist in the preparation of teachers and pastors.
During our trip, which was really a fact-finding one, and one aimed to
support and encourage other Christian Churches, it was inevitable that
we would be used; and this is what happened when we went on a visit to
South Lebanon to see the Khiam Prison, where we met and were addressed
by Sheikh Nabil Kawook, the Shiite leader of the area for Hezbollah. The
security was very tight, and the speech he gave us was strongly
anti-Israeli and anti-Bush/American. Al Gezirah Television were there,
and it was, apparently, broadcast quite widely through the region. An
unfortunate part was that one of our members expressed sentiments which
hardly accorded with those of the rest of the group, and was also
misquoted. It was most unfortunate, as our trip’s intentions were
anything but political. However, our tour of the prison gave us an
unpleasant taste of the cruelty of man to man. Mossad used local
Lebanese soldiers to do their dirty work in the prison, and our guide,
who was a prisoner for two and a half years gave us graphic descriptions
of the tortures which were inflicted on men and women alike; he had to
watch his sister being tortured, and he showed us the pole from which he
was made to hang upside down, blindfolded, and the tiny room into which
he was put in solitary confinement for 3 months. I asked him how it was
possible to put up with that kind of treatment without giving up or
going mad; his answer was “hope is the last thing to disappear”. As we
left the camp, overlooked by the Golan Heights, most of us felt very sad
and ashamed of what had happened in this place, and how low humanity can
stoop.
Whilst this experience was harrowing, we were able to see another side,
as immediately after visiting Khiam prison we went for lunch with Bishop
Kfouri who was a very influential person in the liberation of the area –
during its occupation, this Greek Orthodox bishop often gave shelter to
Shiites who were in danger. At lunch, I was sat next to Antoine Hayek,
the Melkhite Archbishop in the area, and he spoke to me in words that we
found re-echoed throughout our trip: while help from the West was
welcome, the obvious interference in local affairs, especially by the
United States was most unwelcome; Americans do not understand the
problem and certainly do not have the solution for it. In his words: “in
the Israel and Palestine conflict, the US should open both eyes, and
listen with both ears – they have only eyes and ears for one side”. In
the whole area cooperatives are beginning to form, which are working
towards cultivating the land and exploiting resources in the area; we
met 6 members of one such 40 strong cooperative – they feel they are
beginning to have an impact over the area. However, the people feel
abandoned by the Government, and are somewhat cynical; one example was
when we saw a most magnificent building on the top of a hill, opposite
the house we were visiting; I asked what it was and the answer was it
was a school the Government had built, which was useless, as they would
never furnish it or provide the teachers for it – it was just there for
show, or perhaps as a statement for the Israelis. The sharp contrast
between highly cultivated Israeli land and overgrown South Lebanese
territory is certainly less noticeable, but there is still some way to
go – how sad they have to be divided by a barbed wire fence.
One of the visits which most affected my companions was our trip to the
Sabra – Chatila Camps in Beirut. I suppose I was less affected by them
as I had seen areas at least as poor in Peru and Colombia; nevertheless,
it was disturbing; that there should be some two hundred thousand
Palestinians living in the most deprived and primitive conditions so
close to what is supposed to be a civilised country is an appalling
judgement. On our visit to the Embassy, we had at first been advised not
to visit the camp; but then this had been revised and we were told that
providing we followed instructions we would be quite safe. We later
heard that we were the first group to go into the camp after the
publication of the cartoons. As we entered the area we went through a
souk selling every kind of produce, from meat and vegetables or fruit to
household, clothing and personal items. Supposedly you can buy a Rolex
watch at a bargain price… I was amused to see a delivery van with boxes
full of transistor radios which were marked in bold red letters “BEWARE
OF IMMITATIONS”(sic). No refugees in these camps have an identity, they
cannot work in Lebanon, vote, buy houses or live in any way normally;
the situation is made even more difficult by the fact that there is no
minister in the Government responsible for refugees or displaced
persons. There were 16 such camps; at present 13 are left. The camps
started as tents, but have now progressed to concrete, with the
narrowest of streets; no, or next to no sanitation, thousands of loose
electric wires criss-crossing the narrow passages. In the midst of this
squalor, we were taken into a house, the ground-floor of which had been
transformed into a school. Four small rooms, with the most basic of
facilities; the first we entered was full of 3 to 5 year old boys and
girls, all in uniform gowns – who looked at us shyly until we started to
chat to them and play; they seemed obviously malnourished and affected
by illness – an enthusiastic teacher was animating the class, with no
books or aids that we could see. We then moved to the next room where a
group of young teenage girls were being taught to do each other’s hair,
so as to give them some sort of a chance of employment outside; they
thawed out pretty quickly and even accepted to tackle the hair of one of
our members who is bald. This little oasis of education, in the middle
of that educational wilderness is run by a wonderful woman called Sylvia
Haddad. She is a Palestinian, who was living in Jerusalem; she left in
1950, and was given 1 week before her parents house was destroyed by the
Israelis. She devotes her life to this education, and is grateful for
all the help that she can get, which comes mainly from Church Groups.
She is the sort of unsung hero who should get the Nobel Prize for peace;
a noble, generous soul who gives her life for children, without hope or
expectation of reward.
Some of the children in the Chatila refugee camp
For our walk through the camp we were told to say
that we were Germans; if we said that we were from the United Kingdom it
would, apparently, have been too dangerous, as we would have been
associated with Americans who are cordially hated; and, sure enough, as
we were walking through, we were asked many times where we came from –
at the answer Germany, there were great smiles and friendly handshakes.
At the end of that walk through Sabra – Chatila, we came to an outside
compound, with a locked gate; we were told that over 1000 people who had
been massacred were buried there – no tombs, no gravestones, just dumped
into the ground and an immense poster proclaiming them as martyrs. The
guardian would not allow us in until he had made sure we were not
Americans; when we went in we had a small service of prayer.
One of our last calls in the Lebanon was at the National Evangelical
Church, in downtown Beirut where the Reverend Habib Badr gave us a
fascinating overview of Lebanese politics. The confessional divisions in
the Lebanon have meant that each religion has jurisdiction over the
marriage and family law of its own confession – the state enforces the
judgement of the various Tribunals. In Lebanon, consequently, there is
no such thing as civil marriage; in the case of mixed Christian
marriages, matters are dealt with cross-confessionally, which must at
times be incredibly difficult. Political lines similarly, are organised
on broadly the same lines; there is a pact that the different
confessional lines divide the power between them. Municipal elections
are representative and democratic; but national elections are
confessional, and representation is 50/50 Christian/Muslim (where it
used to be 60/40 Christian). The problem is that the population is 70/30
Muslim, on account of the Muslim birth-rate and the greater Christian
emigration. At present there is very little or no co-habiting in
Lebanon. But new patterns of secular behaviour, especially among the
young may eventually lead to new outlook towards this confessional
approach to voting in National elections. Some lawyers have even been
advocating the creation of a confessionless confession, which, as the
constitution is based on the French equivalent of dividing power might
solve the problem eventually in an increasingly secular and
confessionless society. At this stage, however, it seems to make no
sense to fight confessionalism according to Habib it must be allowed to
take its course and eventually evolve into what our Western world would
call a more democratic model.
Although the Syrians have left, it is commonly
assumed that they have left their intelligence services to monitor the
situation, even though there are no political relations with Syria; no
Embassy, Consulate or Legation. There have been lots of political
assassinations which have never been investigated; it appears to be a
part of the culture, and the insecurity of the situation, where the
judiciary, the army, the police and politicians do not seem to trust
each other, could make one understand why it is that there are far more
Lebanese living outside than in the country if Lebanon were not such a
lovely country. One slight incident of the insecurity felt by the people
was borne in on me that afternoon when we were driving through town, and
the spot where Rafik Hariri was assassinated was pointed out to us;
there were soldiers still on guard; a couple of our group took out their
cameras and were about to photograph the place, when our driver shouted:
“No, please don’t! I don’t want to die, I have children…” I suppose the
sight of Westerners in a bus at that spot, taking photos was a bit
provocative and could have been dangerous.
The guide
we had throughout our time in Lebanon was Seta Hadeshian, a member of
the Armenian community. She worked tirelessly to prepare our trip,
provided knowledgeable guides at all stages and made sure we were safe
and lacked for nothing. We owe her a great debt of gratitude for all
that she did. Our last day in Lebanon was spent sightseeing, first of
all at Byblos, that site so full of antiquities and then Harissa, that
hill outside Beirut with the church dedicated to Our Lady, where Pope
John Paul said Mass when he visited Lebanon.
From
there we drove north to the Syrian frontier, and the second part of our
trip. But that is for my next article, if I haven’t bored you too much.
Mark OSB
Bishop of Menevia
From the Bishop, June 2006
Bishop Mark’s Visit to Lebanon and Syria (Part 2)
Come, Please!
I have given this rather enigmatic title to my second contribution on
our recent visit to Syria and Lebanon because it was a favourite
expression of our guide: Engineer Abdulla Hajjar, a professional expert
in tourism and cultural visits, as he was described in our programme.
And an expert he really was; a retired civil engineer, his one interest
through life has been the history of the Middle East, and he was an
absolute mine of information – there were times when, after full and
very important visits with religious and political leaders, all we
wanted to do in our minibus was to sit and digest what we had just
experienced; then we would wince as we heard: “listen! This is very
important”; or he would stop the minibus and say to us “come, please!”
and out we would meekly follow. But I am getting ahead of myself; let me
start on the day we moved to Syria.
As I said in my
previous article, we visited Byblos and the Maronite Church Centre of
Harissa and its Marian Shrine where Pope John Paul II had celebrated
Mass. Roger, our Lebanese driver then took us down a little valley, off
Beirut, where we had lunch; surrounded by mountains and next to a little
stream, this was an idyllic spot. By that time, we had already had so
many “memorable meals” that all most of us were longing for was a plain
ham sandwich or an omelette; one of our number, in fact was already
suffering the effects of an over-rich and unaccustomed diet (a number
more of us fell victims to it later on, including me on the penultimate
day of our trip). There were a few buses parked near our minibus, and
from our restaurant we saw some young people dancing; this intrigued
some of our group who decided to go and join them, and learn the
intricacies of their traditional dance. These young people were
Palestinians refugees, on a rare day’s outing; they were friendly and
welcoming and they welcomed the three of our group who went to them and
helped them to join in.
After lunch we started our journey north through the Qadisha Valley and
Tripoli to the Syrian frontier. That part of northern Lebanon looks and
is extremely poor, unkempt full of rubbish, and the journey through it
was somewhat depressing, leading to perhaps what was the most
intimidating part of our visit, the actual crossing of the border. By
the time we got there, we were a good hour late on the estimated time of
arrival, although Roger had been in telephonic communication with our
Syrian guide, Abdulla – every half hour, on the way, he would either
receive a call or make a call: “Yes,” he would say, in French, “habibi
(darling, or my dear – in arabic) we are coming, we will be with you in
good time”. By the time we arrived it was dark, and here we were on one
side of the frontier and our next transport and guide were the other
side of it. Roger then decided to try and find him, so he went off. That
was when we found ourselves abandoned in the minibus in the dark, amid
hostile-looking surroundings for what felt like hours; it was actually
about 20 minutes – but rather scary. We started the formalities with
form-filling and passport control. When Abdulla, who had then arrived,
decided to take matter in his own hands, he must have told Syrian
officials that we were an official delegation who had an appointment
with President Assad when we got to Damascus; and how would they like to
explain the delay to him? Incredible how fast we got through then. A
further half hour’s drive took us to the Al-Wadi hotel for the night.
After an early breakfast, the following morning, we
visited the Greek Orthodox monastery of St George, and then on to the
Citadel of Krak des Chevaliers. A most impressive fortress, which was
never conquered, until a ruse from the invading forces and deception
forced its downfall. We then made our way north, to Aleppo where we
booked in to our hotel for one night. The original intention was not to
include Aleppo in our trip; but it was added as the result of two
pressing invitation from Metropolitan Jean Jeanbart, the Melkite
Patriarch of Aleppo and Haroute Selimian, the President of the Armenian
Evangelical Churches; it also gave us the opportunity of a meeting with
the new Grand Mufti.
I had met Archbishop Jeanbart in
Cologne at the World Youth Day rally, and had promised him that we would
visit him if we possibly could; so, it was good to be able to fulfil
that promise. He told us, in no uncertain terms, and this was backed-up
by most of the religious leaders through the country, that their
greatest fear was the overthrow of the present regime in Syria. His very
strong message to us was that, although it was obvious that Syria was
greatly in need of help from the West, and indeed from America, the last
thing it needed was for other countries to interfere or tell them what
to do. The reality of an Islamic country with a minority of Christians
is just not understood by the West. He pointed very firmly to the time
the West took to adjust to the Industrial Revolution, and to modern
civilisation and said that the Middle East needed the same kind of space
to develop at its own pace. He bemoaned the large emigration; this was a
theme we came across again and again as we met Christian leaders; but
their reaction to this trend was a different one, ranging from wringing
hands and inaction to efforts to deal with the situation in an effective
way. Jeanbart told us what he himself was doing, to start in a small way
to stop that tide. The Diocese owns a house which it has converted into
an Institute which teaches Tourism, and is now branching into Business
Studies. Although fees are paid by the students, these have to be low
for them to be affordable at all. In order to manage that, Archbishop
Jeanbart invites young graduates from other countries to come and spend
a couple of years, teaching in the Dar Basil Institute in different
languages. He is now looking for a young graduate who would be able to
teach English for a course of Commercial and Business students. He is
offering them accommodation at his house as well as full board and
lodging, plus some pocket money, in exchange for their teaching. It
seems to me to be a golden opportunity for them to experience a
different culture and civilisation, and to create links that might be
very useful to them in later life. If any of our readers know of anyone
who might be interested in taking up the offer, I would be very happy to
hear from them.
Another example of what is being done
came in our next visit, this time to Haroute Selimian, President of the
Armenian Evangelical Association. Armenians, over the years, have built
two schools, one of which caters mainly for Muslims in gratitude for
what has been done for their community. They also run a medical clinic,
for dentistry and gynaecology. They have no intention of limiting
acceptance to these institutions to their own confession, and are very
willing to be responsive to the President’s desire for economical
development. Again, Western, and in particular US notions about the way
Syria should run its social, economical or political affairs were
condemned as stereotypical and unrealistic. As I said above, that
message came to us strong and clear. Although I understand it, and to a
great extent sympathise with it, I am not sure how realistic it is: one
of the Church leaders, I am afraid I do not remember which one it was as
I did not note it down at the time, told us that the interference in
Iraq was intolerable, the US should never have invaded, and Saddam
Hussein was an excellent leader; he did not believe that there had been
any human rights violations in the country at all. I must say this
staggered us, as we wondered which press he had been following, and how
well informed were the people if he, a religious leader, could believe
that this was true, in spite of strong evidence to the contrary.
We were very lucky to secure an interview with the Grand Mufti of Syria;
we were taken to his Mosque where he was engaged in a Conference and
meeting with Muftis from many other Islamic countries; he left the
meeting and graciously granted us a good half hour. His message was a
most conciliatory one; he suggested that we all had the same ancestors;
our common father was Adam, and shared a common Father of Prophets in
Abraham; there were not 2 Gods in the cosmos, therefore we all had to
worship the same God. The same spirit was with Sharon, Mother Theresa
and Bush; yes, there were different beliefs in doctrine, but we were all
brothers and not destined to fight each other. The greatest dangers lay
when politics and religion started mixing. And here I quote from his
words as reported from one of the members of our group: “in Syria, Islam
and Christianity is one family. We don’t think there are minorities. We
feel oppressed only when clergymen don’t do their work properly. Don’t
be surprised when the Grand Mufti prays in (a Christian) church during
Ramadan. Therefore I welcome you from the heart. You are clergy; we are
in the same court. There is no strangeness between us”. A bit
idealistic, perhaps, even if incredibly courageous of him, since he
seems to be swimming against the tide in the region. However, it was
interesting that his roots emerged, as in the following breath he made
very anti-Israel remarks, mixing politics with religion… as ever, it is
hard to rise above our culture.
That night we were
invited to a late and very lavish dinner hosted by the Armenian Church
and Metropolitan Jeanbart. That was one of the things I found hardest to
deal with: late, large, rich dinners – followed by early mornings, with
the minibus journey, and “Come, please! This is very important!”
Following this very full day, we made the long mini-bus trip south from
Aleppo to Damascus by way of the citadel of St Simon the Stylite, and
stops at Hama and Homs where we met three Patriarchs of different
Churches, and where I was told that up in the mountains, in a small town
not far from the Lebanese border there was a family called Jabalé one of
whose number was always the Mayor of the town (you could have blown me
down with a feather…) I think that it was there that it began to dawn
upon me that, although relationships between all these Christian leaders
were very cordial, and they extended to each other that wonderful
Middle-Eastern hospitality and friendship, boundaries were on the whole
kept to very strictly; doctrinal and liturgical matters were definitely
kept separate, although there had been cases where joint Pastoral
Letters, mainly dealing with social issues had been produced. When I
asked one of them, again I forget which, why there was no joining-up in
worship more often, the simple answer was that “concelebration was the
crowning sign of unity”. Not really very different from what Rome has
felt for a long time.
We arrived at the St Christophoros Monastery (a Conference Centre some
25 Km outside Damascus) and just had time to get ourselves settled when
the British Ambassador to Syria arrived to join us for dinner. We went
to a nearby restaurant, for another late and large dinner.
The purpose of our meeting with the Ambassador was to brief us on our
meeting the following morning with President Bashar al Assad. The
Embassy had made the request for the Ambassador to join us for the
visit, but this was turned down by the Palace on the pretext that it was
not an official visit; somewhat ironic in view of the importance which
seemed to be given to it the following day by the presence of Television
and Reporters. The sad fact we discovered was that he had not been able
to see the President for over a year, and said that apart from the
Russian Ambassador, the President did not grant diplomats interviews.
When we asked him what relations had been like since the visit of the
President to the UK, the Ambassador said that he felt it had been
downhill ever since. He felt it was not altogether the fault of one side
or the other; there was no doubt that the American influence was very
dominant in the UK’s relations with Syria – the fact that the US did not
seem to care about de-stabilising the present regime was both a
dangerous and a misguided concept. Assuming that another regime, of a
fundamentalist nature, taking over would not matter too much was a
dangerous concept to hold; and that seemed to be the American starting
point.
The following morning, Wednesday 22nd March, we
got up very early, and after breakfast left for downtown Beirut, and the
Patriarchate where we waited for transport to the Presidential Palace.
Some twenty minutes before the time of the appointment, four
presidential limousines arrived to take us up to the Palace; two in each
car. Motor-cyclist outriders ahead with sirens blazing, we cut through
morning rush-hour traffic like hot knives through butter. I was chatting
to my companion about the interview in store, when we seemed to be all
of a sudden on a deserted road; I said that perhaps this was the drive
to the Palace but Robin, my companion said no, this was still town; then
we noticed soldiers at regular intervals and no one else on the road;
so, we both agreed this was not just town. On top of the hill, the
Presidential Palace ahead was an imposing, very modern building. We all
got out and were ushered along a wide and 130 yard long corridor to a
reception room at the end where, quite informally, the President was
waiting, and he greeted us very courteously and in a very relaxed way.
We were, however, sat in a formal way round the immense room, which
meant that a number of our group were quite far away from him.
Television cameras were there, and captured the beginning of the
meeting, and reporters took photos of all of us shaking hands with the
President. After the Press had left, he told us that he was ready to
hear our questions and would be very happy to answer them to the best of
his ability. This article is probably not the place for an extended
account of our conversation with him, so, I will only touch on the
topics covered; education was a major part of his plan, and he was
enlisting the help of private enterprise to develop this as much as
possible. In order to combat poverty and inequality he conceded that in
the past the country had waited for external initiatives; he also
acknowledge the need of help but was disappointed that often external
help was not forthcoming. Research and development were areas where the
country was now concentrating. When asked about the problem of
emigration to the West, particularly among the Christian population, he
acknowledged that there was a steady and not inconsiderable drain on
capital and brain-power, but pointed to the positive side of it:
emigration created good resources and contacts abroad, building bridges
between cultures and leading to money coming into the country, thereby
helping the GDP. He roundly condemned terrorism, praised the efforts of
Christian Churches for the work they were doing, particularly across
cultural and confessional divides. But he stressed the need for an
America with vision; in his opinion Bush Senior was a statesman
surrounded by statesmen, Clinton was a statesman on his own; but Bush
Junior was no statesman and had no statesmen around him. When asked
about the position of the UK, he said that he saw the UK as the bridge
between West and Middle East, in the old days, but that nowadays,
because of America’s disproportionate place in world affairs and the way
we listened to the US Britain had really lost its place. The interview
lasted over an hour, and Assad was relaxed and friendly throughout. It
is not my intention to pass any judgement here, except to say that it
struck us all that Syria obviously, because of its position in the
Middle East, has a major role to play in the understanding between us
and the whole world of Islam; we ostracise it and sideline it at our
future peril. That, of course is not to say that I fully approve of what
is obviously an oppressive regime; but our many meetings with Christian
leaders certainly persuaded us that to wish for a change of regime might
very probably bring about just the kind of de-stabilisation throughout
the region which could lead to disaster. The following day we also had a
meeting with Dr Bouthenia Chaban, the minister for expatriates; a
charming lady who gave us a very full and comprehensive overview of the
political situation as she saw it; she was Assad’s Secretary when he
visited Britain. A lovely touch, during our interview with her: we were
in the reception room next to her office, when a phone in her office
rang insistently; she apologised and said it was an important call she
had to take; this she did, and on return she apologised again and said,
when your 8 year-old son rings on their special phone you simply have to
answer; that was a lovely human touch in the midst of solid politics.
Another important event in our trip was our visit to the Sheikh Ahmad
Kuftaro Foundation, billed as a Muslim-Christian Meeting. Sheikh Salah
Eddin Kuftaro received us warmly and cordially, and then we moved to
Midday Prayers, where the Sheikh and Gethin Abraham-Williams, one of our
number were to give addresses. The Sheikh’s address started well enough,
welcoming us and bringing forward the bonds between Christians and
Muslims, and their common heritage. But then, he said that faithful
followers of all our religions should make it their duty to call for
peace and fraternity and went on with a violent tirade about the evils
of Israel and America; and, although he condemned terrorism, we were all
left with the impression that it was understandable. America was guilty
of organised barbarism, violated human rights and trampled on the
international legitimacy of the United Nations by excessive use of its
veto; and more like this. Gethin’s address, in contrast, was the soul of
moderation and the extended hand of friendship. We came away wondering
how all the young Muslims we had seen, in that immense assembly of well
over a thousand, could have even begun to get a balanced view of the
situation, especially as the news they will be given by the press is
often a very one-sided one.
We had a meeting with a
group of different persons from Christian Churches to talk about issues
relating to the Christian presence. As I can speak French, and there was
a number of young people whose English was very poor but who could speak
very good French, I got into a group with them. I was very impressed in
the way they view their faith, and in the structures they have to foster
this. Young people of 15 to 18 take small groups for meetings where they
discuss matters religious and social – they have regular weekly
meetings, days of recollection and Summer Camps. The organisations are
in the form of pyramids with guidance coming from the top, and help from
those immediately above. These seem to be very well organised and
greatly enjoyed by all concerned. But, probing a bit deeper, and aware
of the concern of a lot of the leaders, I asked these youngsters if they
were thinking of emigrating; almost every single one of them (all Syrian
Nationality, and proud of it) replied in the affirmative. When I asked
them the reason for this apparent betrayal of their roots, the
inevitable answer was that they saw no future in staying in their
country, and they wanted to advance socially and financially; my
entreaties that their country needed them if the state of affairs was
ever to change was inevitably met with a sceptical look and a smile.
Coming to the end of a long article, I cannot finish without talking a
little about more selfish and personal joys I experienced. On the last
day we visited St Mary’s Convent in Saydnya, where we attended a part of
their Orthodox Liturgy, and visited the Convent of St Tekla and had the
opportunity of meeting the Mother Superior of both these houses; wise,
saintly women, who welcomed us with warmth and friendship. But, also, it
was a very uplifting and special experience to be actually walking in
the footsteps of St Paul, especially in Damascus’ Straight Street; and
the readings in recent Liturgy of Easter-tide all of a sudden took on a
more concrete shape. On a more prosaic level, I was relieved to find
that the Levantine blood in my veins perhaps made me more inured than my
companions to Levantine sales tactics which can sometimes be a little
economical with the truth in the selling of products.
There is much more that I could say; but enough is enough. I was greatly
privileged to be a part of the trip to Lebanon and Syria. One of the
most fortunate parts was the companions I was privileged to travel with.
I made very firm and lasting friends, and I am deeply grateful and
thankful to them for friendship and fellowship.
Mark OSB
Bishop of Menevia
From the Bishop, March 2006
On the 18th/19th February this Pastoral Letter was read out in all
Churches. It deals with a very important matter so I have decided,
therefore, to make it the subject of this month’s message.
My dear people,
Over recent years, we in Britain have been greatly blessed because we
have been able to attend daily Mass and receive Holy Communion with
relative ease. This is far from being the case in most of the rest of
the world, nor did previous generations of Catholics in Britain enjoy
this spiritual privilege.
Understandably, a certain
expectation, if not a presumption, has arisen that daily Communion
should always be available, almost as a right. As the number of priests
reduced, this expectation led to the development, on an unofficial
basis, of many different kinds of weekday 'communion services'. These
celebrations evolved unofficially from guidance given by the Church
about services that might take place in countries, rather unlike our
own, where there was no possibility of a priest being present on a
Sunday for Mass.
Over the last twenty years there has
been much serious debate, throughout the worldwide church, about the
wisdom of such services. There are two principal areas of concern:
1) These services tend to diminish or even remove in the minds of some
people the connection between receiving Communion and the eucharistic
action of the Mass itself. When it becomes commonplace for people to
receive Communion separately from Mass, Communion risks no longer being
seen as a culmination of the celebration of the sacrifice of the Mass,
but simply as something that can be received in its own right. Receiving
Communion may become a personal event rather than an act of the whole
community.
Theologically, the graces received from Communion outside Mass are not
the same as the graces received from Communion as part of the
celebration of Mass. Most people are unaware of this.
2) These ‘communion services’ can look very similar to Mass and so cause
confusion in the minds of some people. Those of you who are of a certain
age may remember that, in the days before the liturgical changes brought
about by the Second Vatican Council, many devout Catholics felt, for
human reasons, that Benediction meant more to them than the Mass. Such
misunderstandings undermine our true Faith. We must do all we can to
understand ever more deeply that the Holy Mass is the summit and source
of all our religious endeavours and devotion.
The most
recent teaching of the church on this matter is the document called ‘Redemptionis
Sacramentum’ (2004). It states that if for some extraordinary reason the
celebration of Mass on a Sunday is not possible, the Bishop should try
to provide a service of some kind; but, even then, these services are to
be seen as rare events and, because of the reasons already mentioned,
they should not necessarily include the distribution of Holy Communion.
The document also says that if there is no Mass in their own church the
first pastoral response should be that the faithful are helped and
encouraged to attend Mass in other churches.
The document goes on to say that the bishop must not easily grant
permission for Holy Communion to be distributed at weekdays services,
especially where Mass is celebrated on the preceding or following
Sunday. The whole emphasis of this teaching document is on the central
importance of Sunday Mass rather than simply obtaining Communion outside
Mass.
As a bishop, I naturally take this instruction
to heart, but I want you to fully understand what lies behind its
teaching. The Church is not undervaluing the devotional practice of
daily Communion but is anxious that it be based soundly on the Mass and
not distanced from it. It has to ensure that true beliefs and true
practices are in harmony, so that what we do, expresses clearly and is
fully consistent with what we believe.
Receiving Holy
Communion is the culmination of celebrating Holy Mass; it is the Fruit
of that Celebration. Participating in the Mass is so totally special and
unique that receiving Communion separated from Mass should not be a
regular event except in special circumstances such as sickness. Even
with regard to Holy Communion for the Sick, the same concern to link
Communion with the Mass is indicated clearly by the recommendation in
the recent Pastoral Instruction from the Bishops Conference,
‘Celebrating the Mass’, that it is fitting that where, extraordinary
ministers of Holy Communion are used, they take the sacrament straight
from Mass to the sick people.
Following on from all
that I have explained to you and after long and careful consultation, it
is now my decision that as from Ash Wednesday March 1st the distribution
of Holy Communion should not be part of weekday services of the Word in
the diocese. Where necessary and possible, if Mass is not being
celebrated in their own parish, people should try to go to another
church where Mass is being celebrated. It is good to meet and worship
with our Catholic brothers and sisters of other parishes.
In situations where the parish priest, who alone in the parish is the
custodian of the Blessed Sacrament, decides that a weekday service is
appropriate, it may include, together with a liturgy of the Word, a
simple but dignified worship of the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance or
pyx, in keeping with the liturgical norms of the church. Prayers for
vocations to the priesthood in our diocese and for other countries where
people travel great distances to celebrate occasional Sunday Masses
might also be said. Such services of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
should be seen as spiritual preparation for receiving Holy Communion
ever more fruitfully when God’s Family next gathers to celebrate the
mysteries of the Holy Mass.
We must always remember
that although we should aim to receive Holy Communion at every Mass,
quality and not frequency should mark the nature of our union with
Christ through Holy Communion. Many of the greatest of our Saints
received Christ in Holy Communion only rarely. We are very privileged to
have so many more opportunities than they enjoyed, but we must be
careful always to reverence Holy Communion as a Sacred Gift of which we
are totally unworthy, and not as a private devotion to which we are
entitled.
As we approach Lent, we are all thinking of
what resolutions we can make to enrich this season; I suggest to you
that adding something positive like meditation on this wonderful mystery
of the Eucharist, and fruitful preparation for our attendance at the
Sunday Liturgy might enhance our knowledge and participation.
I am asking all priests of the Diocese to make a copy of this Pastoral
available to you if you would like to read it at your leisure and
meditate on it.
God bless you all.
Mark OSB
Bishop of Menevia
From the Bishop, February 2006
First of all, I would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year. May it
be filled with every blessing, good health and happiness for you and
your families.
Our Diocese is blessed with a Presbyterate, both diocesan and religious,
which is dedicated, hard-working and very united. In my first message of
this New Year I want to pay special tribute to them and thank them for
all that they do for you, the people of God. Forty-eight of them are
actively engaged in Parishes and Convents throughout Menevia; many of
them live a mainly lonely life in small country parishes; a simple,
dedicated existence of unselfish love and service. The normal age of
retirement for priests is 75, and a number of ours are fast approaching
it – in a world which is protesting at the thought that the retirement
age might be raised in the world to 67 or 68, this is indeed eloquent
testimony to their devotion. They are a very united body of men who have
the pleasure of each others’ company on only a few occasions of the year
when all the priests meet together; but, in my experience, they always
support each other and show their concern and brotherly love in many and
varied ways. I am deeply indebted to them.
As I said,
the usual retirement age is 75, but some of our priests are well past
that age, and go on valiantly working. Although by no means the only one
in this category, it is to one such that I wish to pay a special tribute
today – Father Dan Williams. He is now retiring at the age of 80.
There
is always the danger that in a eulogy of this kind people might get the
impression they are reading an obituary or a panegyric – nothing could
be further from the truth; Father Dan is very well and healthy – just
getting on in age, now, and deserving a slightly easier life. And he
certainly deserves it; he has had a full and very active life. He was
born, in 1925 in Forest Fach, a mining village, into a non-conformist
family and educated at Glanmor School, a school which has now closed.
During the war he worked down the mines (a Bevin Boy) at the Mountain
Colliery, Gorseinon. A member of the Welsh Language Society, his
politics was strong Plaid Cymru. He went to Cardiff University where he
obtained a BA and a BD.
Fr Dan taught in Portsmouth,
and it was there that he met a Mr Shipley, who was later to become Fr
Damian Shipley, a monk of Belmont Abbey, and later Assistant Priest at
St David’s Church, Swansea and Chaplain at Stella Maris Convent. He and
Father Dan used to have great discussions on matters of mutual interest
such as transubstantiation, Papal infallibility and the Immaculate
Conception – which must have worked at him; as he became a convert to
Catholicism.
A first attempt at trying out his
vocation had to be cut short, as he had to look after his sick and
ageing mother. It was in those years that he taught at St Joseph’s
School Port Talbot, where he was Head of the RE Department for 18 years.
He had a great love of Scripture which he managed to communicate to his
pupils. His methods of Religious Education were way in advance of his
age, and his methods became the approved model for Catholic Religious
Education from early years to Higher Education; that meant St Joseph’s
School Port Talbot became the flagship and model of Welsh Catholic
Education. His own yearning for the priesthood made him nurture some
boys in the school and encourage them to consider a vocation to the
priesthood; Father John Patrick Thomas, of our Diocese and Father Brian
Davies, the famous Dominican theologian are two examples.
On the death of his mother, Fr Dan was able to resume his studies for
the priesthood, which he did at the Beda College, in Rome and he was
ordained to the priesthood in 1986 by Bishop Mullins; by a quirk of
fate, one of