Catholic and Loving It blog - 18.10.2011
(link)
I don't know if you watch Doctor Who but the latest series included a human sized robot filled with tiny people. The robot had the ability to kill an individual and then take on it's form so that people would think they were speaking with the deceased when in reality they were speaking only with a robot imposter.
You may think there is a Birmingham Oratory, you may have been there and seen the buildings, read the newsletter and even had a cup of tea after Mass. What you actually saw was a lot like the robot from Doctor Who. The appearance of the Birmingham Oratory is there, but the Oratory community is gone.
The Birmingham Oratory community has been torn up and spread (literally) to the far corners of the earth. What remains are buildings and a few fragments of what once was, all held up on artificial limbs to look like it is still alive - it is not. Do not confuse the buildings with the community.
What remains is a puppet manipulated from afar by cynical politician Bishops, hell bent on bringing the legacy of Cardinal Newman under their control and silencing the dangerously outspoken Oratorians. Oratorians who once forced Clare Short to abandon her speaking gig at a local primary school, who criticised Tony Blair in the national press...
Are you blind? The press releases are coming from Eccleston Square! Yes, that would be Eccleston We're not really keen on an 'archbishop versus the politicians' headline' Square!
The same Eccleston Square that was paying Jack Valero to "act" as spokesman!
But it's okay, you keep blaming Fr Guy Nicholls - I'm sure he arranged everything.
Showing posts with label James Preece. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James Preece. Show all posts
Tuesday, 18 October 2011
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Red Herrings at the Birmingham Oratory
Catholic and Loving it! blog - James Preece - 4.10.2011
(link)
I'm not a huge fan of TV soap operas and it's been a long time since I saw any. My sister used to be big in to soaps so I used to see bits of them in the background but since I got married I'm pleased to say I'm completely out of touch.
However, judging by some of the emails I've been getting (and some of the comments on this blog) quite a few people seem to be under the impression that I have been getting my soap opera fix from the Birmingham Oratory. They seem to think I care about who said what to who, why it is that so-and-so has never got on with so-and-so, who may or may not have driven who to a nervous breakdown and so on.
Let me spell it out for you: I'm not interested.
This is not about the internal politics of the Birmingham Oratory. It has never been about the internal politics of the Birmingham Oratory! Do you think I am stupid? Do you really think I would get involved in the internal politics of a religious community from 200 miles away based on hearsay over the internet? I wouldn't even get involved in the internal politics of a religious community if I lived next door!
So why am I getting involved? Because the problems at the Birmingham Oratory are not internal...
For example: The lastest rumour from the Oratory is that everything is Fr Guy Nicholls fault... I know nothing about Fr Guy Nicholls so let me ask you: Did Fr Guy Nicholls pay Jack Valero to act as spokesman for the Oratory? No. Did Fr Guy Nicholls put Fr Duffield on a train and tell him to have his photo taken outside Eccleston Square?
I can't hear you... What's that? No?
Did Fr Guy Nicholls arrange the exclaustration of Fr Dermot Fenlon? No, that would require "either the direct approval of either the Holy See or the local bishop". Did Fr Guy Nicholls arrange for the recent press release on the new provost to come direct from the Catholic Bishop's Conference? No.
Fr Guy Nicholls is a red herring and the real culprits are getting away scott free.
(link)
I'm not a huge fan of TV soap operas and it's been a long time since I saw any. My sister used to be big in to soaps so I used to see bits of them in the background but since I got married I'm pleased to say I'm completely out of touch.
However, judging by some of the emails I've been getting (and some of the comments on this blog) quite a few people seem to be under the impression that I have been getting my soap opera fix from the Birmingham Oratory. They seem to think I care about who said what to who, why it is that so-and-so has never got on with so-and-so, who may or may not have driven who to a nervous breakdown and so on.
Let me spell it out for you: I'm not interested.
This is not about the internal politics of the Birmingham Oratory. It has never been about the internal politics of the Birmingham Oratory! Do you think I am stupid? Do you really think I would get involved in the internal politics of a religious community from 200 miles away based on hearsay over the internet? I wouldn't even get involved in the internal politics of a religious community if I lived next door!
So why am I getting involved? Because the problems at the Birmingham Oratory are not internal...
For example: The lastest rumour from the Oratory is that everything is Fr Guy Nicholls fault... I know nothing about Fr Guy Nicholls so let me ask you: Did Fr Guy Nicholls pay Jack Valero to act as spokesman for the Oratory? No. Did Fr Guy Nicholls put Fr Duffield on a train and tell him to have his photo taken outside Eccleston Square?
I can't hear you... What's that? No?
Did Fr Guy Nicholls arrange the exclaustration of Fr Dermot Fenlon? No, that would require "either the direct approval of either the Holy See or the local bishop". Did Fr Guy Nicholls arrange for the recent press release on the new provost to come direct from the Catholic Bishop's Conference? No.
Fr Guy Nicholls is a red herring and the real culprits are getting away scott free.
Wednesday, 21 September 2011
Birmingham Three Recap...
Catholic and Loving it blog (link) 20.9.2011
I don't know how many of you are new to events at the Birmingham Oratory in the run up to the Papal visit but it's been a while and it might help if I run through it all again.
It was back in May 2010 that The Tablet first carried the news that three Oratorians had been told to “spend time in prayer for an indefinite period by Fr Felix Selden, an apostolic visitor to the Oratory Congregation”. If the Tablet had stopped there that might have been the end of it - such things are an internal matter and helps nobody to speculate on blogs.
Except in this case it wasn't an internal matter, it ceased to be an internal matter when the spokesman for the Birmingham Oratory picked up the phone to The Tablet and named names. However much he might bleat now about privacy, it was the Birmingham Oratory spokesman and not a blogger who made it a matter of pubic record that Fr Philip Cleevely, Fr Dermot Fenlon and Brother Lewis Berry had been “ordered to go on retreat” by Fr Felix Selden. This is the ecclesiastical equivalent of announcing that somebody has been permanently suspended from work - a very public stain on the reputation of these three men and one which they were entirely unable to defend themselves due to the gagging order placed on them by the Oratory.
As the weeks turned in to months some suggested that whatever the three had done to deserve their exile, it must have been pretty serious. Rumours of bullying and possible sexual misconduct began to surface. Friends of the three men were so distressed at the way in which their reputations were being “trashed” that they began to campaign publicly that the three were known to be good holy men a blog was started and an open letter was sent to Fr Felix Selden.
To suggest that these friends and wellwishers were guilty of gossip is outrageous. It was gossip and rumour that they were seeking to dispel.
It was about this time that BBC West Midlands became interested and Oratory spokesman Jack Valero was quick to play things down... “it's just a time away to cool down” he said “they can come back soon and we can continue as normal”. Only a few weeks later Jack had changed his tune telling Radio Ulster that the three “are going to come back at some point, we don't know, it's not going to be soon”. This is the sort of transparency most people would associate with a brick wall.
To their credit, the Oratory did defend the three men and Ruth Dudley Edwards reported that Jack Valero had “confirmed unequivocally that the Three are entirely guiltless of any wrong-doing whatsoever”. Of course, this only begs the question – if they have done nothing wrong, why are they away? Why can they not come back? This soon became the central mystery of the Birmingham Three. Three men, declared innocent by an official spokesman for the Birmingham Oratory yet exiled from their home for months and looking increasingly likely to miss the beatification of their founder. Why had they been sent away in the first place?
More questions began to be asked, like why is the press officer for Opus Dei speaking for the Birmingham Oratory? Things did't get any less mysterious when it turned out that while Mr Valero is officially speaking for the Oratory he is actually being paid to do so by the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales and reports to Archbishop Nichol's press secretary. Yet more questions were raised about the role of the mysterious Fr Gareth/Sebastian Jones...
Pressure was mounting, blog entries about The Birmingham Three were getting hits from Rome, I had been on the Radio and Ruth Dudley Edwards was writing in Standpoint magazine and had even got the story on TV. The same questions were repeatedly asked: If the three have done nothing wrong, why can't they come home?
Something had to be done and something was, I can't say exactly how much pressure Brother Lewis Berry was under when he agreed to spend next year at an Oratory in South Africa but it's very hard imagine he did so of his own free will. The youngest of the three had the most to lose and with his ordination hanging in the balance the press release in his name had all the credibility of a forced confession. Fr Philip Cleevely issued a remarkably similar press release about how happy he is to be spending the next year in Toronto. It would not be long until the men who Jack Valero said would be “back soon” announced plans to remain abroad permanently.
Which leaves Fr Dermot Fenlon, the last of the three. There has been no press release from Fr Fenlon, no statement that he is happy about being sent away from his home of twenty years at a days notice despite being 68 years of age. So Fr Fenlon has been well and truly stamped on, according to a report in the Catholic Herald Fr Fenlon is being “forcibly exclaustrated” for a period of five years. In the article Simon Caldwell writes that “Under the Code of Canon Law, a priest cannot be exclaustrated for more than three years unless there is a “grave reason” yet Fr Fenlon has officially done nothing wrong. Such a prolonged period must have “either the direct approval of either the Holy See or the local bishop, who, in the case of Fr Fenlon, is Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham”.
And so the questions remain: If there has been no injustice, why not let the three speak to journalists and tell everbody how happy they are with the situation? If the three have done nothing wrong, why couldn't they be present for the beatification?
More than a year later - why is Fr Dermot Fenlon still in exile?
I don't know how many of you are new to events at the Birmingham Oratory in the run up to the Papal visit but it's been a while and it might help if I run through it all again.
It was back in May 2010 that The Tablet first carried the news that three Oratorians had been told to “spend time in prayer for an indefinite period by Fr Felix Selden, an apostolic visitor to the Oratory Congregation”. If the Tablet had stopped there that might have been the end of it - such things are an internal matter and helps nobody to speculate on blogs.
Except in this case it wasn't an internal matter, it ceased to be an internal matter when the spokesman for the Birmingham Oratory picked up the phone to The Tablet and named names. However much he might bleat now about privacy, it was the Birmingham Oratory spokesman and not a blogger who made it a matter of pubic record that Fr Philip Cleevely, Fr Dermot Fenlon and Brother Lewis Berry had been “ordered to go on retreat” by Fr Felix Selden. This is the ecclesiastical equivalent of announcing that somebody has been permanently suspended from work - a very public stain on the reputation of these three men and one which they were entirely unable to defend themselves due to the gagging order placed on them by the Oratory.
As the weeks turned in to months some suggested that whatever the three had done to deserve their exile, it must have been pretty serious. Rumours of bullying and possible sexual misconduct began to surface. Friends of the three men were so distressed at the way in which their reputations were being “trashed” that they began to campaign publicly that the three were known to be good holy men a blog was started and an open letter was sent to Fr Felix Selden.
To suggest that these friends and wellwishers were guilty of gossip is outrageous. It was gossip and rumour that they were seeking to dispel.
It was about this time that BBC West Midlands became interested and Oratory spokesman Jack Valero was quick to play things down... “it's just a time away to cool down” he said “they can come back soon and we can continue as normal”. Only a few weeks later Jack had changed his tune telling Radio Ulster that the three “are going to come back at some point, we don't know, it's not going to be soon”. This is the sort of transparency most people would associate with a brick wall.
To their credit, the Oratory did defend the three men and Ruth Dudley Edwards reported that Jack Valero had “confirmed unequivocally that the Three are entirely guiltless of any wrong-doing whatsoever”. Of course, this only begs the question – if they have done nothing wrong, why are they away? Why can they not come back? This soon became the central mystery of the Birmingham Three. Three men, declared innocent by an official spokesman for the Birmingham Oratory yet exiled from their home for months and looking increasingly likely to miss the beatification of their founder. Why had they been sent away in the first place?
More questions began to be asked, like why is the press officer for Opus Dei speaking for the Birmingham Oratory? Things did't get any less mysterious when it turned out that while Mr Valero is officially speaking for the Oratory he is actually being paid to do so by the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales and reports to Archbishop Nichol's press secretary. Yet more questions were raised about the role of the mysterious Fr Gareth/Sebastian Jones...
Pressure was mounting, blog entries about The Birmingham Three were getting hits from Rome, I had been on the Radio and Ruth Dudley Edwards was writing in Standpoint magazine and had even got the story on TV. The same questions were repeatedly asked: If the three have done nothing wrong, why can't they come home?
Something had to be done and something was, I can't say exactly how much pressure Brother Lewis Berry was under when he agreed to spend next year at an Oratory in South Africa but it's very hard imagine he did so of his own free will. The youngest of the three had the most to lose and with his ordination hanging in the balance the press release in his name had all the credibility of a forced confession. Fr Philip Cleevely issued a remarkably similar press release about how happy he is to be spending the next year in Toronto. It would not be long until the men who Jack Valero said would be “back soon” announced plans to remain abroad permanently.
Which leaves Fr Dermot Fenlon, the last of the three. There has been no press release from Fr Fenlon, no statement that he is happy about being sent away from his home of twenty years at a days notice despite being 68 years of age. So Fr Fenlon has been well and truly stamped on, according to a report in the Catholic Herald Fr Fenlon is being “forcibly exclaustrated” for a period of five years. In the article Simon Caldwell writes that “Under the Code of Canon Law, a priest cannot be exclaustrated for more than three years unless there is a “grave reason” yet Fr Fenlon has officially done nothing wrong. Such a prolonged period must have “either the direct approval of either the Holy See or the local bishop, who, in the case of Fr Fenlon, is Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham”.
And so the questions remain: If there has been no injustice, why not let the three speak to journalists and tell everbody how happy they are with the situation? If the three have done nothing wrong, why couldn't they be present for the beatification?
More than a year later - why is Fr Dermot Fenlon still in exile?
Tuesday, 23 August 2011
A little bit more of the jigsaw - or should I say stamp collection?
Catholic Paterfamilias - 21.8.2011
http://catholicpaterfamilias.blogspot.com/2011/08/little-bit-more-of-jigsaw-or-should-i.html
Over on James Preece's blog things seem to have got a bit warm with Peter Jennings getting very excited about some photos.
A few interesting facts about Mr Jennings:
No public event of any note seems to take place without Peter getting a set of commemorative stamps issued somewhere in the world with endorsement from some bishop or another;
He likes to make his feelings about people very clear;
He's one of Vincent Nichols' boys; and
He was Press Secretary for the Newman Cause.
So, there we have it: an occasionally potty mouthed philatelist press secretary with a predilection for serving prelates.
Now I wonder what Peter knew about what was happening at the Birmingham Oratory when the troubles there began all those months ago and I wonder who he told?
http://catholicpaterfamilias.blogspot.com/2011/08/little-bit-more-of-jigsaw-or-should-i.html
Over on James Preece's blog things seem to have got a bit warm with Peter Jennings getting very excited about some photos.
A few interesting facts about Mr Jennings:
No public event of any note seems to take place without Peter getting a set of commemorative stamps issued somewhere in the world with endorsement from some bishop or another;
He likes to make his feelings about people very clear;
He's one of Vincent Nichols' boys; and
He was Press Secretary for the Newman Cause.
So, there we have it: an occasionally potty mouthed philatelist press secretary with a predilection for serving prelates.
Now I wonder what Peter knew about what was happening at the Birmingham Oratory when the troubles there began all those months ago and I wonder who he told?
Friday, 22 July 2011
Brother Lewis in South Africa for good...
Catholic and Loving it! blog - James Preece - 22.7.2011
www.http://www.lovingit.co.uk/2011/07/brother-lewis-in-south-africa-for-good.html#comments
Fr Richard Duffield (the monkey, not the organ grinder) writes...
From Fr Richard: - A few weeks ago, Br Lewis requested a formal transfer to the Oratory of Port Elizabeth in South Africa where he has been living since last September. Both communities have now agreed to this. He has asked us to print the message below in the Parish Bulletin:
“I’m pleased to have the opportunity to write a few words to you, the parishioners of the Oratory in Birmingham, to explain that I have requested to transfer to the Oratory of Port Elizabeth, in South Africa, where I have been living now for nearly ten months. I am very happy here, and I feel so much drawn to the particular work and life of this community that I want to remain here permanently. I thank the Birmingham Oratory community for the support they have given me in this decision. I am also grateful to the Apostolic Visitor, Father Felix Selden, both for the kindness that he has shown me and for the generosity of his decisions in my regard. I am deeply mindful of the many blessings I received whilst at Birmingham. I am now looking forward to a new future, and I ask you to support me in this with your prayers. If anyone wants to write to me I would be happy to hear from you!”
I would like to add that although the community here in Birmingham is sorry to lose Br Lewis we are pleased that he has found renewed enthusiasm for the Oratorian vocation as it is lived in a house with which we have a long-standing friendship and which some of us know well. We thank Br Lewis for his contributions to the life of this house, especially his work for the Cause of Blessed John Henry Newman; and we thank also the Fathers of the Port Elizabeth Oratory for their continued generosity and for the renewed inspiration they have given to Br Lewis. His address is: Oratory of St Philip Neri 8th Avenue PO Box 5012 Walmer 6065 Republic of South Africa
Evict somebody from their home for doing nothing wrong, force them to miss the beatification they worked so hard for, send them halfway around the world and leave them there for ten months.
What's that? He'd rather not come home?
Is anybody suprised?
www.http://www.lovingit.co.uk/2011/07/brother-lewis-in-south-africa-for-good.html#comments
Fr Richard Duffield (the monkey, not the organ grinder) writes...
From Fr Richard: - A few weeks ago, Br Lewis requested a formal transfer to the Oratory of Port Elizabeth in South Africa where he has been living since last September. Both communities have now agreed to this. He has asked us to print the message below in the Parish Bulletin:
“I’m pleased to have the opportunity to write a few words to you, the parishioners of the Oratory in Birmingham, to explain that I have requested to transfer to the Oratory of Port Elizabeth, in South Africa, where I have been living now for nearly ten months. I am very happy here, and I feel so much drawn to the particular work and life of this community that I want to remain here permanently. I thank the Birmingham Oratory community for the support they have given me in this decision. I am also grateful to the Apostolic Visitor, Father Felix Selden, both for the kindness that he has shown me and for the generosity of his decisions in my regard. I am deeply mindful of the many blessings I received whilst at Birmingham. I am now looking forward to a new future, and I ask you to support me in this with your prayers. If anyone wants to write to me I would be happy to hear from you!”
I would like to add that although the community here in Birmingham is sorry to lose Br Lewis we are pleased that he has found renewed enthusiasm for the Oratorian vocation as it is lived in a house with which we have a long-standing friendship and which some of us know well. We thank Br Lewis for his contributions to the life of this house, especially his work for the Cause of Blessed John Henry Newman; and we thank also the Fathers of the Port Elizabeth Oratory for their continued generosity and for the renewed inspiration they have given to Br Lewis. His address is: Oratory of St Philip Neri 8th Avenue PO Box 5012 Walmer 6065 Republic of South Africa
Evict somebody from their home for doing nothing wrong, force them to miss the beatification they worked so hard for, send them halfway around the world and leave them there for ten months.
What's that? He'd rather not come home?
Is anybody suprised?
Thursday, 19 May 2011
Revealed: The Terrible Crime of Fr Cleevely
Catholic and Loving It! blog - James Preece - 19.5.2011
http://www.lovingit.co.uk/2011/05/revealed-the-terrible-crime-of-fr-cleevely.html
I have heard from several sources, that Fr Philip Cleevely would sometimes (or often, depending on the source) stay up too late and be difficult to wake up in the morning. A crime I am often guilty of myself...
This is put forward as an "explanation" for his being evicted from his home, named and shamed in The Tablet, made to miss the beatification of the founder of his community, excluded from a Papal visit to his own home and forced to start a new life in another country.
Presumably the idea is that Canada is on a time zone he can handle?
Seriously? After more than a year this is the best you can come up with?
Let's get some perspective!
For three years, the Cardinal Archbishop of Barcelona has refused to act against a priest in his diocese who boasts openly of having financed abortions.
Now, the priest is a subject of a new book in Catalonian, “Fr. Manel: Closer to earth than to heaven”, which describes the ever-growing popularity of his charitable work with Spanish celebrities. In addition to repeating his claim of having paid for abortions, Fr. Manel Pousa says he has performed “blessings” of homosexual unions, and endorses the creation of female “priests”, according to reports in the Spanish media.
He also states that he regards clerical celibacy as optional, and says he has a girlfriend—but claims that their relationship is celibate.
Although Pousa has never retracted any of his statements, his prelate, Cardinal Lluís Martínez Sistach, has only given Manel a verbal “warning”, leaving him in his place to continue his leadership of his parish and his other activities.
[link]
If priests who finance abortions and admit to having a girlfriend are given nothing more than 'a verbal "warning"' then do you seriously expect me to believe that Fr Cleevely has had his entire ecclesiastical career called in to question because he finds it hard to get up in the morning?
Obviously.
http://www.lovingit.co.uk/2011/05/revealed-the-terrible-crime-of-fr-cleevely.html
I have heard from several sources, that Fr Philip Cleevely would sometimes (or often, depending on the source) stay up too late and be difficult to wake up in the morning. A crime I am often guilty of myself...
This is put forward as an "explanation" for his being evicted from his home, named and shamed in The Tablet, made to miss the beatification of the founder of his community, excluded from a Papal visit to his own home and forced to start a new life in another country.
Presumably the idea is that Canada is on a time zone he can handle?
Seriously? After more than a year this is the best you can come up with?
Let's get some perspective!
For three years, the Cardinal Archbishop of Barcelona has refused to act against a priest in his diocese who boasts openly of having financed abortions.
Now, the priest is a subject of a new book in Catalonian, “Fr. Manel: Closer to earth than to heaven”, which describes the ever-growing popularity of his charitable work with Spanish celebrities. In addition to repeating his claim of having paid for abortions, Fr. Manel Pousa says he has performed “blessings” of homosexual unions, and endorses the creation of female “priests”, according to reports in the Spanish media.
He also states that he regards clerical celibacy as optional, and says he has a girlfriend—but claims that their relationship is celibate.
Although Pousa has never retracted any of his statements, his prelate, Cardinal Lluís Martínez Sistach, has only given Manel a verbal “warning”, leaving him in his place to continue his leadership of his parish and his other activities.
[link]
If priests who finance abortions and admit to having a girlfriend are given nothing more than 'a verbal "warning"' then do you seriously expect me to believe that Fr Cleevely has had his entire ecclesiastical career called in to question because he finds it hard to get up in the morning?
Obviously.
Wednesday, 6 April 2011
Olympic Wit from the Oxford Oratory
Catholic and Loving It! Blog - 1.04.2011
http://www.lovingit.co.uk/2011/04/olympic-wit-from-the-oxford-oratory.html
Those fantastic wits at the Oxford Oratory pulled a hilarious April Fools Day prank in which they pretended that Fr Anton Webb has been selected to represent Vatican City at the 2012 Olympics.
The joke is on them of course - everybody knows that Oratorian's are best at...
...The Triple Jump!
http://www.lovingit.co.uk/2011/04/olympic-wit-from-the-oxford-oratory.html
Those fantastic wits at the Oxford Oratory pulled a hilarious April Fools Day prank in which they pretended that Fr Anton Webb has been selected to represent Vatican City at the 2012 Olympics.
The joke is on them of course - everybody knows that Oratorian's are best at...
...The Triple Jump!
Wednesday, 9 March 2011
Selective Hearing
Catholic & Loving It! blog - 9.3.2011
http://www.lovingit.co.uk/
Let me get this right...
Fr Dermot Fenlon is banished from his home at the Birmingham Oratory with absolutely no notice at all mere months before the Papal Visit while Jack Valero tells the world that there's nothing to worry about and it's all perfectly normal for members of a religious community to dissapear mere months before one of the most important events in that communities history even though they've done nothing wrong.
The "visitor" shifts people out and moves a new provost in and the stream of pro-life, pro-family press releases stops. The community has been taken over and silenced.
Austen Ivereigh has nothing to say.
Lesley Anne Night, secretary generral of Caritas International doesn't get to renew her contract and suddenly he's talking about a "Vatican coup".
Update: Today marks 300 days of unjust exile for Fr Fenlon.
http://www.lovingit.co.uk/
Let me get this right...
Fr Dermot Fenlon is banished from his home at the Birmingham Oratory with absolutely no notice at all mere months before the Papal Visit while Jack Valero tells the world that there's nothing to worry about and it's all perfectly normal for members of a religious community to dissapear mere months before one of the most important events in that communities history even though they've done nothing wrong.
The "visitor" shifts people out and moves a new provost in and the stream of pro-life, pro-family press releases stops. The community has been taken over and silenced.
Austen Ivereigh has nothing to say.
Lesley Anne Night, secretary generral of Caritas International doesn't get to renew her contract and suddenly he's talking about a "Vatican coup".
Update: Today marks 300 days of unjust exile for Fr Fenlon.
Thursday, 10 February 2011
Question for Archbishop Bernard Longley
from Catholic Pater Familias blog - 9.2.2011
http://catholicpaterfamilias.blogspot.com/2011/02/question-for-archbishop-bernard-longley.html
Why has Father Dermot Fenlon not been returned home?
I only ask because from reading James Preece's blog there seem to be a good number of your flock wanting the return of their much loved and innocent priest.
Not your problem but Fr Felix Selden's? Erm, nope - your flock.............your problem........
http://catholicpaterfamilias.blogspot.com/2011/02/question-for-archbishop-bernard-longley.html
Why has Father Dermot Fenlon not been returned home?
I only ask because from reading James Preece's blog there seem to be a good number of your flock wanting the return of their much loved and innocent priest.
Not your problem but Fr Felix Selden's? Erm, nope - your flock.............your problem........
Monday, 7 February 2011
Fr Philip Cleevely transferred to Toronto
Catholic & Loving It! blog - 6.2.2011
http://www.lovingit.co.uk/2011/02/fr-philip-cleevely-transferred-to-toronto.html
The man who Jack Valero said would be "back soon" has now been in exile for 269 days. Turns out I was right, his exile is to be permanent.
Here's the "official" version of events from the Birmingham Oratory website...
Fr. Philip has been resident at the Toronto Oratory since last September, teaching philosophy and spirituality to the students in the seminary run by that community. He has found this work very satisfying. Full use has been made of his intellectual gifts in the tasks assigned to him. He has in consequence asked for a definitive transfer from the Birmingham Oratory to the Toronto Oratory. The Fathers in Canada, recognising the contribution he can make to their community’s life and work, have agreed to his request
We would like to thank Fr. Philip for his contribution to the life of the Birmingham house over the last twenty years. We would also like to thank the Fathers of the Toronto Oratory, their Provost Fr. Jonathan Robinson, and Fr. Martin Hilbert and Fr. Daniel Utrecht who were such a support to us in the preparations for the Papal Visit. Our two houses retain close fraternal bonds and we look forward to continued close collaboration in the future.
[Source: Birmingham Oratory Homepage]
Note the official version contains absolutely nothing by way of an explanation of how Fr Cleevely came to find himself resident in Toronto. That despite being an innocent man, despite twenty years residence at the Birmingham Oratory, Fr Cleevely was not allowed to be present in his own home during the Papal visit.
This is a family blog, so I will delete the last two paragraphs I wrote and leave it there.
http://www.lovingit.co.uk/2011/02/fr-philip-cleevely-transferred-to-toronto.html
The man who Jack Valero said would be "back soon" has now been in exile for 269 days. Turns out I was right, his exile is to be permanent.
Here's the "official" version of events from the Birmingham Oratory website...
Fr. Philip has been resident at the Toronto Oratory since last September, teaching philosophy and spirituality to the students in the seminary run by that community. He has found this work very satisfying. Full use has been made of his intellectual gifts in the tasks assigned to him. He has in consequence asked for a definitive transfer from the Birmingham Oratory to the Toronto Oratory. The Fathers in Canada, recognising the contribution he can make to their community’s life and work, have agreed to his request
We would like to thank Fr. Philip for his contribution to the life of the Birmingham house over the last twenty years. We would also like to thank the Fathers of the Toronto Oratory, their Provost Fr. Jonathan Robinson, and Fr. Martin Hilbert and Fr. Daniel Utrecht who were such a support to us in the preparations for the Papal Visit. Our two houses retain close fraternal bonds and we look forward to continued close collaboration in the future.
[Source: Birmingham Oratory Homepage]
Note the official version contains absolutely nothing by way of an explanation of how Fr Cleevely came to find himself resident in Toronto. That despite being an innocent man, despite twenty years residence at the Birmingham Oratory, Fr Cleevely was not allowed to be present in his own home during the Papal visit.
This is a family blog, so I will delete the last two paragraphs I wrote and leave it there.
Friday, 4 February 2011
Charity begins at home?
from Catholic Pater Familias blog - 31.1.2011
http://catholicpaterfamilias.blogspot.com/2011/01/charity-begins-at-home.html
As Fr Dermot Fenlon enters his 263 day of exile from his home at the Birmingham Oratory, when can we expect to hear Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham, who is known for his opposition to homelessness, champion Fr Fenlon's cause?
And what of Fr Felix Selden, Fr Ignatius Harrison and Fr Gareth Jones? Do they know what homelessness and exile are like?
For background on Fr Fenlon's plight, the required reading is:
http://freethebirminghamoratorythree.blogspot.com/
http://www.lovingit.co.uk/
The one thing that is clear in this tale of misery is that Fr Fenlon has done nothing wrong (see James Preece's many postings on the subject).
http://catholicpaterfamilias.blogspot.com/2011/01/charity-begins-at-home.html
As Fr Dermot Fenlon enters his 263 day of exile from his home at the Birmingham Oratory, when can we expect to hear Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham, who is known for his opposition to homelessness, champion Fr Fenlon's cause?
And what of Fr Felix Selden, Fr Ignatius Harrison and Fr Gareth Jones? Do they know what homelessness and exile are like?
For background on Fr Fenlon's plight, the required reading is:
http://freethebirminghamoratorythree.blogspot.com/
http://www.lovingit.co.uk/
The one thing that is clear in this tale of misery is that Fr Fenlon has done nothing wrong (see James Preece's many postings on the subject).
Friday, 28 January 2011
What has Constantinople to do with Birmingham
On 21 December 2007, Anthony Blair apparently converted to the Catholic Faith. “Apparently”, because he has publicly dissented from the Magisterium since then, for example on 8 April 2009, when he told the Pope to rethink the Church’s teaching on sodomy. On 15 September 2010 L’Osservatore Romano carried an article by Blair in which he sought to co-opt Newman’s teaching on conscience and the sensus fidelium to the cause of dissent. As John Smeaton observed at the time, (1) the publication of the article was shortly preceded by the announcement of the Birmingham Three’s exclaustration, (2) Father Dermot is “one of the world’s leading expert defenders of Newman’s legacy”, and (3) “since the removal of … the Birmingham Three the Newman Cause blog has had no substantial articles”. It has now disappeared altogether. While the Birmingham Three were at the Oratory together, several articles critical of Tony and Cherie Blair and directly related to the authentic interpretation of Newman appeared on the Newman Cause blog. For example:
“Since becoming a Catholic, Mr Blair has refused every invitation to disown and repent of [his anti-life/anti-family political record]… [S]ome commentators, including Catholics, have sought to justify it by saying that Mr Blair’s silence is because his support for abortion, embryo experimentation, civil partnerships and gay adoption has always been for him, and remains now, a matter of conscience. Now this is the danger in The Tablet’s association of Newman and conscience with the case of Tony Blair. If as a Catholic Mr Blair thinks that his conscience directs him to support such positions, to invoke Newman in defence of his stance would be a travesty. For Newman, no Catholic can be in good conscience in supporting the positions Mr Blair espoused. The impossibility of conscience, enlightened by Faith, justifying adherence to evil is one of the most important of Newman’s lessons for our times.” (October 2009: h/t John Smeaton)
Or this, published on 27 November 2009, concerning Deacon Jack Sullivan’s request that the Times remove from its website an article about a visit to Cherie Blair, which was sprung on him by some PR guy in the pay of a bishop:
“Unfortunately, Jack had not been made aware of Mrs Blair’s public opposition to the teaching of the Church. He undertook the visit in good faith, believing Mrs Blair to be simply a prominent Catholic. … The conjunction of Mrs Blair’s ‘conscientious’ dissent from the teaching of the Church with Jack Sullivan’s apparent endorsement of her could do harm to Newman’s reputation, and that is our reason for posting this clarification. Newman is indeed the great teacher of the rights and duties of conscience. It is of the greatest importance that his teaching is not used to make him the patron of Catholics, like Cherie Blair and others, who in the name of conscience practise dissent from the Church’s teaching. The decision to arrange Jack’s visit to Mrs Blair, and then to publicise it under Jack’s name, has not contributed to upholding a true interpretation either of Newman, or of Cherie Blair.”
If one was to think that the exile of the Birmingham Three, and Father Dermot in particular, was a manoeuvre in a wider campaign to appropriate the thought of Newman to the cause of liberal dissent by removing prominent critics of those who hold court at the heart of Relativism’s Dictatorship, then it is the humble opinion of this commentator that one would not be far off the mark.
Wednesday, 15 September 2010
Fr Fenlon Exiled for Five Years
Catholic & Loving It! Blog - James Preece - 13.9.2010
http://www.lovingit.co.uk/
I'm sure this is old news to most of you but some of us really have been living a field for the last two weeks and are just catching up.
According to the Catholic Herald, Fr Dermont Fenlon the oldest of the Birmingham Three has been "forcibly exclaustrated" for at least five years because, well, there is no "because"...
Under the Code of Canon Law, a priest cannot be exclaustrated for more than three years unless there is a “grave reason”. A prolonged period must also have either the direct approval of either the Holy See or the local bishop, who, in the case of Fr Fenlon, is Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham.
Yet no Church figure has publicly given any reason why Fr Fenlon has been subject to such severe canonical penalties in the first place.
Read John Smeaton's excellent coverage of this including his list of questions for the Newman Cause spokesman Jack "the Church is not against condoms" Valero.
http://www.lovingit.co.uk/
I'm sure this is old news to most of you but some of us really have been living a field for the last two weeks and are just catching up.
According to the Catholic Herald, Fr Dermont Fenlon the oldest of the Birmingham Three has been "forcibly exclaustrated" for at least five years because, well, there is no "because"...
Under the Code of Canon Law, a priest cannot be exclaustrated for more than three years unless there is a “grave reason”. A prolonged period must also have either the direct approval of either the Holy See or the local bishop, who, in the case of Fr Fenlon, is Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham.
Yet no Church figure has publicly given any reason why Fr Fenlon has been subject to such severe canonical penalties in the first place.
Read John Smeaton's excellent coverage of this including his list of questions for the Newman Cause spokesman Jack "the Church is not against condoms" Valero.
Saturday, 11 September 2010
Birmingham Three - still as clear as mud
Catholic & Loving It! Blog - Lovingit Locums - 11.9.2010
http://www.lovingit.co.uk/
See John Smeaton's blog for the most recent developments.
An innocent man of 68 has been expelled from his home for a minimum of 5 years.
This is a cruel and unusual punishment but for what?
Both Br Lewis Berry and Fr Philip Cleevely asked for Fr Felix Selden and others to be left alone. Well, that's exactly what is not going to happen. Fr Felix Selden & co have failed at every step to provide any answers.
Attempts by Fr Felix Selden & co to retreat behind this being 'a private internal matter' are fundamentally undermined by it having been them, through their ubiquitous spokesman, who leaked this story to the Tablet in the first place.
Fr Felix Selden, Fr Ignatius Harrison, Fr Gareth Jones and Mr Valero we do not believe you at all.
Until the truth comes out we will continue to ask questions. And, be assured, the truth will come out.
http://www.lovingit.co.uk/
See John Smeaton's blog for the most recent developments.
An innocent man of 68 has been expelled from his home for a minimum of 5 years.
This is a cruel and unusual punishment but for what?
Both Br Lewis Berry and Fr Philip Cleevely asked for Fr Felix Selden and others to be left alone. Well, that's exactly what is not going to happen. Fr Felix Selden & co have failed at every step to provide any answers.
Attempts by Fr Felix Selden & co to retreat behind this being 'a private internal matter' are fundamentally undermined by it having been them, through their ubiquitous spokesman, who leaked this story to the Tablet in the first place.
Fr Felix Selden, Fr Ignatius Harrison, Fr Gareth Jones and Mr Valero we do not believe you at all.
Until the truth comes out we will continue to ask questions. And, be assured, the truth will come out.
Friday, 3 September 2010
The Birmingham Three - Pause for thought.
Catholic & Loving it! Blog - Lovingit Locums - 31.8.2010
http://www.lovingit.co.uk/
Br Lewis Berry’s statement of 30 August 2010 gives some pause for thought on the issue of the Birmingham Three.
In his article in the print edition of the Catholic Herald of 27 August 2010, Jack Valero stated it was time for the likes of this blog and others to “pack up shop” on the issue of the Birmingham Oratory. We would provide the link to the article but can't because the article is not available online. This is the best we can do just now.
It has already been said in comments here and elsewhere (and, before anyone suggests it, no we did not post the particular comment in the link), that it is rumoured that Br Lewis was to be ordained to the priesthood in October of this year. How that is reconciled with the reason given for his going to South Africa for at least a year as being that his formation “will best be met in an Oratorian community that will afford him greater opportunities for a varied programme of pastoral work, as the Church requires of a deacon” remains to be seen.
On the one hand ordination this year but on the other no reference to ordination any time soon?
When asked publicly to ‘pack up shop’ by a spokesman appointed by the Bishops Conference what is the correct response? Does one:
Shut up on the basis that an official spokesman has told one to?
Or
Continue asking questions?
On balance we think the correct response is to continue asking questions. That answer then does raise the question of whether steps will be taken to "shut the shop". As with the truth of the Birmingham Oratory situation, only time will tell the answer to that question.
Statement aside, if Brother Lewis is so firmly opposed to the behaviour of "intemperate bloggers and journalists" (as referred to by Jack in the same Catholic Herald article) then why didn't he just say so in the first place? Also, if The Three are entirely happy with the way things are going, why a statement from only one? The younger one... the one most likely to cave in to pressure?
http://www.lovingit.co.uk/
Br Lewis Berry’s statement of 30 August 2010 gives some pause for thought on the issue of the Birmingham Three.
In his article in the print edition of the Catholic Herald of 27 August 2010, Jack Valero stated it was time for the likes of this blog and others to “pack up shop” on the issue of the Birmingham Oratory. We would provide the link to the article but can't because the article is not available online. This is the best we can do just now.
It has already been said in comments here and elsewhere (and, before anyone suggests it, no we did not post the particular comment in the link), that it is rumoured that Br Lewis was to be ordained to the priesthood in October of this year. How that is reconciled with the reason given for his going to South Africa for at least a year as being that his formation “will best be met in an Oratorian community that will afford him greater opportunities for a varied programme of pastoral work, as the Church requires of a deacon” remains to be seen.
On the one hand ordination this year but on the other no reference to ordination any time soon?
When asked publicly to ‘pack up shop’ by a spokesman appointed by the Bishops Conference what is the correct response? Does one:
Shut up on the basis that an official spokesman has told one to?
Or
Continue asking questions?
On balance we think the correct response is to continue asking questions. That answer then does raise the question of whether steps will be taken to "shut the shop". As with the truth of the Birmingham Oratory situation, only time will tell the answer to that question.
Statement aside, if Brother Lewis is so firmly opposed to the behaviour of "intemperate bloggers and journalists" (as referred to by Jack in the same Catholic Herald article) then why didn't he just say so in the first place? Also, if The Three are entirely happy with the way things are going, why a statement from only one? The younger one... the one most likely to cave in to pressure?
Monday, 30 August 2010
Little Oratory Brothers silenced.
Catholic & Loving It! blog - Lovingit Locums - 30.8.2010
http://www.lovingit.co.uk/
Over at the Little Oratory's blog there has been an 'appeal for circumspection' in relation to the situation at the Birmingham Oratory.
The 'Long Suffering Rector' says:
"As we are all only too well aware, the situation in the Birmingham Oratory is far from happy, and has given rise to a great deal of comment and speculation in the press.
It would be most unhelpful were any Brother of the Little Oratory in London to be seen to be making public or semi-public statements on this matter.
We must refrain from any comment when asked by outsiders, other than to say that it is an internal matter for the Birmingham House, and must be careful not to discuss this situation amongst ourselves where there is the possibility of our being overheard. We must also refrain from entering the fray of comments in the blogosphere.
We should be praying - not indulging in conjecture and gossip."
Let's see how long it takes for someone to mention Godwin's Law...
http://www.lovingit.co.uk/
Over at the Little Oratory's blog there has been an 'appeal for circumspection' in relation to the situation at the Birmingham Oratory.
The 'Long Suffering Rector' says:
"As we are all only too well aware, the situation in the Birmingham Oratory is far from happy, and has given rise to a great deal of comment and speculation in the press.
It would be most unhelpful were any Brother of the Little Oratory in London to be seen to be making public or semi-public statements on this matter.
We must refrain from any comment when asked by outsiders, other than to say that it is an internal matter for the Birmingham House, and must be careful not to discuss this situation amongst ourselves where there is the possibility of our being overheard. We must also refrain from entering the fray of comments in the blogosphere.
We should be praying - not indulging in conjecture and gossip."
Let's see how long it takes for someone to mention Godwin's Law...
Friday, 27 August 2010
The Oratory Three - where do we go from here?
Catholic & Loving it! Blog - Lovingit Locums - 27.8.2010
http://www.lovingit.co.uk/
With Br Lewis Berry off to South Africa and Fr Philip Cleevely in communication with Jack Valero (according to Jack’s interview with William Crawley), when can we expect a statement from them?
A statement of some type must be in the offing, if only to quash speculation, and its contents will perhaps be along the following lines:
My decision to make this statement has not been influenced or swayed by any other party.
Whilst an Oratorian’s home is his home for life, I am delighted to announce that I shall be off for pastures new to pursue my vocation. This is notwithstanding my having rather liked being at the Birmingham Oratory and the Pope being about to visit. This decision has been mine alone and I have not been subjected to any pressure at all in reaching it.
I would like to thank Fr Felix Selden, Fr Ignatius Harrison, Fr Gareth Jones and Mr Jack Valero for having handled what have been difficult times at the Birmingham Oratory with such sensitivity, ability and pastoral care. Their control of the media in preventing speculation over absolutely nothing has been exemplary.
Whilst there may have been speculation by third parties that I have been subject to abuse of canon law process, I can state categorically that that has not been the case and that every care and attention was taken by Fr Felix Selden and others to ensure my physical and spiritual wellbeing at all times.
Although I am grateful for people having taken such an interest in me, it was unnecessary. The theories of one type or another that I understand have been circulating have all been without truth and I ask that they cease as such speculation is damaging to the Church and hierarchy at this momentous time.
Any questions?
Er sorry……Sorry I don’t think I can answer that question.
Or that one.
Or that one.
Or that one. My, is that the time? How it passes. Anyway, thanks all for coming and what lovely weather we’re having. Got to go now……Bye…..
We still won’t believe it.
And what of Fr Dermot Fenlon? Will he make a statement confirming everything is absolutely ticketyboo and that all’s right with the world or will he be given the push into the Oratorian equivalent of outer space? Only time will tell….
http://www.lovingit.co.uk/
With Br Lewis Berry off to South Africa and Fr Philip Cleevely in communication with Jack Valero (according to Jack’s interview with William Crawley), when can we expect a statement from them?
A statement of some type must be in the offing, if only to quash speculation, and its contents will perhaps be along the following lines:
My decision to make this statement has not been influenced or swayed by any other party.
Whilst an Oratorian’s home is his home for life, I am delighted to announce that I shall be off for pastures new to pursue my vocation. This is notwithstanding my having rather liked being at the Birmingham Oratory and the Pope being about to visit. This decision has been mine alone and I have not been subjected to any pressure at all in reaching it.
I would like to thank Fr Felix Selden, Fr Ignatius Harrison, Fr Gareth Jones and Mr Jack Valero for having handled what have been difficult times at the Birmingham Oratory with such sensitivity, ability and pastoral care. Their control of the media in preventing speculation over absolutely nothing has been exemplary.
Whilst there may have been speculation by third parties that I have been subject to abuse of canon law process, I can state categorically that that has not been the case and that every care and attention was taken by Fr Felix Selden and others to ensure my physical and spiritual wellbeing at all times.
Although I am grateful for people having taken such an interest in me, it was unnecessary. The theories of one type or another that I understand have been circulating have all been without truth and I ask that they cease as such speculation is damaging to the Church and hierarchy at this momentous time.
Any questions?
Er sorry……Sorry I don’t think I can answer that question.
Or that one.
Or that one.
Or that one. My, is that the time? How it passes. Anyway, thanks all for coming and what lovely weather we’re having. Got to go now……Bye…..
We still won’t believe it.
And what of Fr Dermot Fenlon? Will he make a statement confirming everything is absolutely ticketyboo and that all’s right with the world or will he be given the push into the Oratorian equivalent of outer space? Only time will tell….
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)