Oremus October 2020 by RCWestminster

October 2020 | Edition Number 262 | FREE

Westminster Cathedral Magazine

St Teresa of Avila experienced an all-consuming love of God, describing it as an angel piercing her heart with a spear

AN AUTUMNAL SUMMER

The Summer Exhibition at the RA The Royal Academy is delighted now to present this year’s delayed Summer Exhibition. At a time when artists have been denied important opportunities to show work, the 252nd Summer Exhibition will be a unique celebration of contemporary art and architecture, providing a vital platform and support for the artistic community. It remains the world’s largest open submission contemporary art show and has been held every year without interruption since 1769, even throughout the war years. Jane and Louise Wilson RA are co-ordinators of the Exhibition, the first time it has been curated by an artistic duo. Working with the rest of the Summer Exhibition Committee, they seek to challenge the definition of what community is and what form collective communities can begin to take. Themes this year will reflect upon identity, immigration, contested borders, ecological threat, climate change, pro-democracy protest and landscape, in the form of installation, painting, film, photography and sculpture. Due to exceptional circumstances, much of the preparation for this year’s exhibition has been done virtually for the first time. Isaac Julien RA is curating the first two galleries and his selection of invited artists is an homage to the late curator and art historian Okwui Enwezor (1963-2019), with many of the artists whose careers Enwezor influenced contributing work. Richard Deacon RA is curating the sculpture gallery, whilst

two Academicians are curating virtually: Eileen Cooper is managing prints and Stephen Farthing is working from Jordan curating galleries 3 and 9. Sonia Boyce RA has encouraged many artists who have never shown previously to contribute to her gallery. A new element this year will be the introduction of ‘invisible walls’ in some of the gallery spaces, walls that are suspended from the ceiling on wires to accommodate both two-dimensional works and video screens, adding another dimension to the hang. Works are judged democratically on merit and the final selection is made during the eight-day hang in the galleries. This year the Royal Academy received over 18,000 entries, of which around 1,000 works, in a range of media, will go on display. Now, more than ever, the Royal Academy is committed to supporting artists and architects and a belief in the restorative power of art. The majority of works in the Summer Exhibition will be for sale, offering visitors an opportunity to purchase original work. Funds raised support the exhibiting artists, the postgraduate students studying in the RA Schools and the notfor-profit work of the Royal Academy. The Exhibition is in the Main Galleries from 6 October – 3 January 2021.

Oremus

October 2020

CONTENTS

Inside Oremus

Oremus Cathedral Clergy House 42 Francis Street London SW1P 1QW T 020 7798 9055 E oremus@westminstercathedral.org.uk W www.westminstercathedral.org.uk

Oremus, the magazine of Westminster Cathedral, reflects the life of the Cathedral and the lives of those who make it a place of faith in central London. If you think that you would like to contribute an article or an item of news, please contact the Editor. Patron The Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster Chairman The Administrator (Awaiting appointment) Editor Fr John Scott

Cathedral Life: Past & Present Cathedral History in Pictures: The Canonisation of the Forty Martyrs by Paul Tobin 12 & 13 Cathedral History: A Furore, A Russian and a Hiatus 16 & 17 Coming into the Church: A Testimony

Pelican’s Progress by Fr Daniel Humphreys

Caroline Webb R.I.P. by Michael Drury

Oremus Team Tony Banks – Distribution Zoe Goodway – Marketing Manel Silva – Subscriptions Berenice Roetheli – Proofreading Ellen Gomes – Archives

Features

Design and Art Direction Julian Game Registered Charity Number 233699 ISSN 1366-7203 Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily represent the views of the Editor or the Oremus Team. Neither are they the official views of Westminster Cathedral. The Editor reserves the right to edit all contributions. Publication of advertisements does not imply any form of recommendation or endorsement. Unless otherwise stated, photographs are published under a creative commons or similar licence. Every effort is made to credit all images. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission.

The Summer Exhibition in the Autumn

Hidden Life in Leicestershire: Film Notice

Care in Care Homes: The Fine Line by Bishop Paul Mason

‘What is Man?’ – Learning from the Catechism, Part 3 8&9 The UK Government and the Persecution of Christians by Bishop Philip Mountstephen, Part 2 (concluded)

10 & 11

Traffickers Put Behind Bars by Bakhita House

Late Medieval Survivals in Oxford Part 1

14 & 15

News from the Missions by Fr Ed O’Connell

A Midday Angelus Address by Pope Francis

Entering into Adoration at the National Gallery

Human Rights: A Warning by the Catholic Union

30 5

From the Acting Administrator Bernini’s Ecstasy of St Theresa (1652) in the Cornaro chapel of Santa Maria Della Vittoria, Rome is justly famous, but Venice has its own version by Enrico Merengo (1697) in the Ruzzini Chapel of Santa Maria degli Scalzi. © Didier Descouens

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Oremus

6&7

Regulars

October 2020

Monthly Album

18 & 19

Diary and Notice

20 & 21

Friends of the Cathedral

Crossword and Poem of the Month

In Retrospect

St Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School

FILM NOTICE

Join the Companions ... and help us to keep publishing Oremus free of charge Although we earn income from the advertising which we carry, Oremus relies on donations from readers to cover its production costs. The Companions of Oremus was established to recognise those who give generously to support us. Open exclusively to individuals, Companions’ names are published in the magazine each month (see page 7). All members are invited to one or more social events during the year and Mass is offered for their intentions from time to time. If you would like to support us by joining the Companions, please write to Oremus, Cathedral Clergy House, 42 Francis Street, London SW1P 1QW or email oremuscomps@rcdow.org.uk with your contact details, including postcode. Members are asked to give a minimum of £100 annually. Please mention how you would like your name to appear in our membership list and if you are eligible to Gift Aid your donation. Postal subscriptions to Oremus may be purchased through the Cathedral Gift Shop’s website or by using the coupon printed in the magazine. Thank you for your support.

A Hidden Life in Leicestershire The feature documentary Outside the City about the Trappist Monks of Mount St Bernard Abbey was released to great critical acclaim last October. The film documents the lives and deaths of the monks living behind the walls of this closed monastic community, as they transition from dairy farming to brewing the UK's first Trappist beer, the famous Tynt Meadow. Director Nick Hamer said: ‘I first heard about the monastery during the filming of my previous documentary Dear Albert which is about recovery from addiction, as many local addicts attend the abbey for spiritual retreats. I found the abbey such an interesting place and I knew I had to explore the 4

idea of making a film there’. Gaining privileged access to this private and declining community wasn't easy; at first contact in 2014, Nick was set a reading list by Abbot Fr Erik Varden in preparation for 18 months of dialogue, which involved him living 'as a monk' within the community for a week, including extended periods of silence and getting up at 3am every morning to pray. After a community vote, it was agreed that he could spend a year filming at the abbey. ‘Although we have had filming here a number of times over the years, this was quite different. Previous filming was concentrated to just a day or two and was carefully choreographed, but Nick was given unprecedented access to the monastery and community’, said Fr Joseph, the Abbey’s Prior. Nick describes his work in this way: ‘The film is about life and death, about the nature of renewal,

and what it means to live a spiritual life. It's an intimate portrait of this unique community, and features the deaths and burials of two of the oldest members of the community, Br William Strahan and Fr Hilary Costello. The world première took place at the Off Cinema International Documentary Festival, Poznań in Poland on 18 October 2019. The film was selected from over 2,500 entries and competed amongst a field of 14 international films for the prestigious Gold, Silver and Bronze Castle Awards. The UK première was at Cinecity Brighton Film Festival on 9 November 2019. The cinema release of Outside the City took place earlier this year, but was unfortunately cut short by the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then Verve Pictures have acquired the UK rights to distribute the film on Digital, DVD and Blue-ray. Oremus

October 2020

EDITORIAL

From the Acting Administrator It seems as though 2020 is slipping through our fingers, so to speak. It has certainly been a year of unpredictable turmoil. At Westminster Cathedral it has been a time of reacting to circumstances beyond our control. We have tried to do so with a degree of commonsense and the virtue of hope, essential characteristics for any institution which seeks to be loyal to Jesus Christ. Having said this, it has been a testing time. This month we shall say good bye to Fr Julio Albornoz and Fr Rajiv Michael, who are moving to be Assistant Priests in Sudbury and Brook Green respectively. I hear that Fr John Scott has quipped that the best ones always get taken from the Cathedral. He has a point in both these cases. Fr Julio has excelled in work with St Vincent de Paul Primary School and in the sacramental preparation of the children and young people of the Cathedral parish. He has added to that a pastoral concern which has endeared him to many. Fr Rajiv was quickly thrust into the preparation of adults for Baptism and Confirmation. He revelled in this role and has been responsible for some serious and deeply edifying instruction which has been appreciated by many. They have both been a pleasure to live and work with, and I know the other Chaplains join me in thanking them and assuring them of prayers and ongoing support and friendship.

Westminster Cathedral Cathedral Clergy House 42 Francis Street London SW1P 1QW Telephone 020 7798 9055 Service times 020 7798 9097 Email chreception@rcdow.org.uk www.westminstercathedral.org.uk Cathedral Chaplains Fr Daniel Humphreys, Acting Administrator Fr Julio Albornoz Fr Michael Donaghy Fr Andrew Gallagher, Precentor Fr Hugh MacKenzie Fr Vincent Mbuâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;i SVD Fr Rajiv Michael Fr John Scott, Registrar Also in residence Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Victories Music Department Awaiting appointment, Master of Music Peter Stevens Obl. OSB, Assistant Master of Music Marko Sever, Organ Scholar Cathedral Manager Peter McNulty Estates Manager Neil Fairbairn Chapel of Ease Sacred Heart Church Horseferry Road SW1P 2EF

It looks as though the clergy numbers will be reduced for a little while, so I do ask for patience and understanding as we spread ourselves a little more thinly. Despite this, we are all committed to the ongoing life of the Cathedral and pledge to do all that we can to maintain the Faith here, even in these odd and anxious days. It is good to report that September witnessed some normality returning to the schedule. The Lay Clerks reappeared and are now singing at the Solemn Mass and Vespers on Sundays, and each weekday at 5.30 pm the Mass is enhanced by the singing of the Propers. In October, we sincerely hope that the boy choristers will also return to sing at Solemn Mass and Vespers on Sundays in term time. The Cardinal presided at Mass in the Cathedral twice in the same week in the middle of September. First, there was the Chrism Mass, held over from Holy Week. In a simple and moving ceremony he blessed the Holy Oils for use throughout the diocese. Secondly, he ordained two deacons and three priests on the following Saturday. It was so good to see the Cathedral fulfilling its role as the Mother Church of the diocese of Westminster. These glimmers of hope are something to rejoice in, and to draw strength from. We shall see what the autumn brings. With all good wishes and prayers, Fr Daniel Humphreys October 2020

Oremus

CARE IN CARE HOMES

Living with Dementia

This image is entitled ‘My mum ill with dementia with me’

Bishop Paul Mason, Lead for Health and Social Care at the Bishops’ Conference Dame Barbara Windsor’s husband, Scott Mitchell, recently spoke out about the pain he felt at leaving his wife in a care home due to her worsening condition with Alzheimer’s. Speaking to the BBC, he said: ‘I feel I’m on an emotional rollercoaster. I walk around, trying to keep busy, then burst into tears. It feels like a bereavement’. This feeling has been accentuated during the COVID-19 pandemic for thousands of people who have partners, family members and friends with dementia living in care homes.

their relatives who wish to visit them. An impaired ability to understand new situations or recall memories may seem inconsistent with the great depth of feeling which people with dementia can retain throughout their illness. However, it has been shown that when someone is living with dementia, meaningful human interactions can make a real difference to the rate of progression of this disease.

As COVID-19 restrictions gradually ease, more vulnerable members of society have been able to regain some of the crucial human connections which felt so distant at the height of the lockdown. If we are a country that is serious about preventing a mental health crisis in the aftermath of the coronavirus, now is the time for us to start talking honestly and openly about the care sector and how we treat residents with dementia; they cannot be left behind. As Catholics our starting point is that we are all made equally in the image of God. Human value is not a measure of our mental or physical capacity, our societal function, our age, our health or of any other qualitative assessment. God made each of us and in so doing gave us all equal dignity and value. It is the love of God and the love of those around us which ensure that this dignity is not lost at any point, especially during sickness and dying.

According to Julia Jones and Nicci Gerrard of John’s Campaign, more than 70 per cent of the 440,000 people living in care homes are living with dementia, and the majority are in the last years of their lives. While the average length of a stay in residential care is approaching two and a half years, in nursing care the average is 13 months. To have lost five months of such precious time is painful in the extreme, especially when there is no firm hope of reconnection until the loved one is dying, when a visit will finally be allowed. One cannot deny the commitment which staff in care homes have shown their residents. Many carers became resident themselves, with some leaving their own families for weeks or even months, to look after those in their care. We recognise that these are great sacrifices, for which I thank every single member of staff in care homes, and we continue to pray for the souls of those who, in their selfless acts of care, also tragically lost their lives as a result of COVID-19.

People suffering with dementia are some of the most vulnerable in our society and deserving of all the love and care we can muster. Yet, their care needs can be neglected, and assumptions made about what is best for them and

Though care home staff have taken on so much more over the last five months, we simply cannot expect them to be able to fill every role involved in caring for a resident. For many, more pressured and intensive schedules simply do not

Oremus

October 2020

CARE IN CARE HOMES allow carers the time to sit with a resident for long periods, talk or read to them, play them music or hold their hand. This was the care typically provided by loving relatives, often on a daily basis. If relatives are not allowed to visit their loved ones in care homes for prolonged periods, we risk hastening the deterioration and, at worst, the death of people who could have had months of meaningful and loving care through to the natural end of their life. The care provider Methodist Homes for the Aged (MHA) has been one of the first to recognise this in recent times, and has formulated a new policy, More Than Just a Visitor, which aims to implement these learnings. The policy defines an essential family carer as: ‘a resident’s family member or friend whose care for the resident is an essential element of maintaining their mental or physical health. Without this input a resident is likely to suffer significant distress or continued distress’. Acknowledging that the care of relatives cannot be replaced demonstrates that love is a crucial part of care. The social doctrine of the Church explains that: ‘in order to make society more human, more worthy of the human person, love in social life – political, economic and cultural – must be given renewed value, becoming the constant and highest norm for all activity’. The Government, local authorities and the care sector undoubtedly recognise that there is a fine balance to be struck between protecting vulnerable lives on the one hand, and on the other maintaining a sense of dignity and purpose for those living with a long term illness like dementia. Perhaps now is the time to ask if this line is currently in the right place? Greater encouragement for care homes to follow the lead of the MHA and facilitate family visits, for example, would be a first step towards a more loving attitude towards people with dementia. Throughout the lockdown, the risks of a possible global mental health crisis have been cited by the World Health Organisation, leading mental health charities and other organisations. Jones and Gerrard observe that: ‘Disconnection from the love of the essential relative, is effectively a disconnection from the inner self’. This profound truth applies both to care home residents and to their relatives on the outside. The mental health and wellbeing of a person with dementia is crucial to their experience of life with this disease. Dr Donald Macaskill, CEO of Scottish Care, has written of experiences of people with dementia in care homes dying of a broken heart due to a lack of contact with their loved ones. The love which forms the bonds in a relationship goes both ways, and the continued separation of people from their relatives in care homes does not resonate with our national and global focus on improving mental health. We fail in our most basic duty of love and care when we begin to treat those who are sick and dying as dispensable, or worth less than those who are healthy. There is a line between the legitimate protection of others on the one hand and, on the other, what the purpose of being alive is in the first place. As time goes by that line inevitably takes in more of the latter. When the choice is dying of a long-term degenerative disease or a broken heart, we must look at those living with dementia in care homes through the lens of love. October 2020

Oremus

Companions of Oremus We are very grateful for the support of the following: Mrs Mary Barsh Dr Stuart Blackie Anne Veronica Bond Richard Bremer Francis George Clark Daniel Crowley Ms Georgina Enang Alfredo Fernandez Fred Gardiner Connie Gibbes Zoe & Nick Goodway Rosalinda Grimaldo Mrs Valerie Hamblen R & L Collyer-Hamlin Bernadette Hau Bernard Adrian Hayes Mrs Cliona Howell Alice M Jones & Jacob F Jones Poppy K Mary Thérèse Kelly Raymund Livesey Alan Lloyd in memoriam Barry Lock Clare and John Lusby Pamela McGrath Linda McHugh Peter McNelly in memoriam Christiana Thérèse Macarthy-Woods James Maple Dionne Marchetti Paul Marsden Mary Maxwell Abundia Toledo Munar Chris Stewart Munro Mrs Brigid Murphy Kate Nealon Cordelia Onodu Cris Ragonton Emel Rochat Berenice Roetheli John Scanlan Mr Luke Simpson Sonja Soper Tessa and Ben Strickland Julia Sutherland Eileen Terry Mr Alex Walker Jacqueline Worth Patricia M Wright and of our anonymous Companions If you would like to become a Companion of Oremus, see page 4

OUR CATHOLIC UNDERSTANDING

This is Our Faith, this is the Faith of the The international protests which have arisen in recent months in the Western world suggest that we as Catholics will do well to consider again the God-given fundamentals of our faith. We do not create ourselves, but we can go astray if we let the secular or anti-Christian assumptions of much public discourse form our worldview. Oremus therefore offers further material from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. References to ‘Man’ are to humanity in general and also to the individual human person. Freedom put to the test 396 God created man in his image and established him in his friendship. A spiritual creature, man can live this friendship only in free submission to God. The prohibition against eating ‘of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil’ spells this out: ‘for in the day that you eat of it, you shall die.’ The ‘tree of the knowledge of good and evil’ symbolically evokes the insurmountable limits that man, being a creature, must freely recognize and respect with trust. Man is dependent on his Creator, and subject to the laws of creation and to the moral norms that govern the use of freedom. Man's first sin

398 In that sin man preferred himself to God and by that very act scorned him. He chose himself over and against God, against the requirements of his creaturely status and therefore against his own good. Constituted in a state of holiness, man was destined to be fully ‘divinized’ by God in glory. Seduced by the devil, he wanted to ‘be like God’, but ‘without God, before God, and not in accordance with God’. 399 Scripture portrays the tragic consequences of this first disobedience. Adam and Eve immediately lose the grace of original holiness. They become afraid of the God of whom they have conceived a distorted image - that of a God jealous of his prerogatives. 400 The harmony in which they had found themselves, thanks to original justice, is now destroyed: the control of the soul's spiritual faculties over the body is shattered; the union of man and woman becomes subject to tensions, their relations henceforth marked by lust and domination. Harmony with creation is broken: visible creation has become alien and hostile to man. Because of man, creation is now subject ‘to its bondage to decay’. Finally, the consequence explicitly foretold for this disobedience will come true: man will ‘return to the ground’, for out of it he was taken. Death makes its entrance into human history. 401 After that first sin, the world is virtually inundated by sin. There is Cain's murder of his brother Abel and the universal corruption which follows in the wake of sin. 8

397 Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God's command. This is what man's first sin consisted of. All subsequent sin would be disobedience toward God and lack of trust in his goodness. There are lots of ways of doing Catechetics!

Likewise, sin frequently manifests itself in the history of Israel, especially as infidelity to the God of the Covenant and as transgression of the Law of Moses. And even after Christ's atonement, sin raises its head in countless ways among Christians. Scripture and the Church's Tradition continually recall the presence and universality of sin in man's history: What Revelation makes known to us is confirmed by our own experience. For when man looks into his own heart he finds that he is drawn towards what is wrong and sunk in many evils which cannot come from his good creator. Often refusing to acknowledge God as his source, man has also upset the relationship which should link him to his last end, and at the same time he has broken the right order that should reign within himself as well as between himself and other men and all creatures. The consequences of Adam's sin for humanity 402 All men are implicated in Adam's sin, as St Paul affirms: ‘By one man's disobedience many (that is, all men) were made sinners’: ‘sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned. The Apostle contrasts the universality of sin and death with the universality of salvation in Christ. ‘Then as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man's act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men.’ Oremus

October 2020

OUR CATHOLIC UNDERSTANDING

Church (3) 403 Following St Paul, the Church has always taught that the overwhelming misery which oppresses men and their inclination towards evil and death cannot be understood apart from their connection with Adam's sin and the fact that he has transmitted to us a sin with which we are all born afflicted, a sin which is the ‘death of the soul’. Because of this certainty of faith, the Church baptizes for the remission of sins even tiny infants who have not committed personal sin. 404 How did the sin of Adam become the sin of all his descendants? The whole human race is in Adam ‘as one body of one man’. By this ‘unity of the human race’ all men are implicated in Adam's sin, as all are implicated in Christ's justice. Still, the transmission of original sin is a mystery that we cannot fully understand. But we do know by Revelation that Adam had received original holiness and justice not for himself alone, but for all human nature. By yielding to the tempter, Adam and Eve committed a personal sin, but this sin affected the human nature that they would then transmit in a fallen state. It is a sin which will be transmitted by propagation to all mankind, that is, by the transmission of a human nature deprived of original holiness and justice. And that is why original sin is called ‘sin’ only in an analogical sense: it is a sin ‘contracted’ and not ‘committed’ – a state and not an act. 405 Although it is proper to each individual, original sin does not have the character of a personal fault in any of Adam's descendants. It is a deprivation of original holiness and justice, but human nature has not been totally corrupted: it is wounded in the natural powers proper to it, subject to ignorance, suffering and the dominion of death, and inclined to sin - an inclination to evil that is called ‘concupiscence’. Baptism, by imparting the life of Christ's grace, erases original sin and turns a man back towards God, but the consequences for nature, weakened and inclined to evil, persist in man and summon him to spiritual battle. 406 The Church's teaching on the transmission of original sin was articulated more precisely in the fifth century, especially under the impulse of St Augustine's reflections against Pelagianism, and in the sixteenth century, in opposition to the Protestant Reformation. Pelagius held that man could, by the natural power of free will and without the necessary help of God's grace, lead a morally good life; he thus reduced the influence of Adam's fault to bad example. The first Protestant reformers, on the contrary, taught that original sin has radically perverted man and destroyed his freedom; they identified the sin inherited by each man with the tendency to evil (concupiscentia), which would be insurmountable. The Church pronounced on the meaning of the data of Revelation on original sin especially at the second Council of Orange (529) and at the Council of Trent (1546). October 2020

Oremus

A hard battle . . . 407 The doctrine of original sin, closely connected with that of redemption by Christ, provides lucid discernment of man's situation and activity in the world. By our first parents' sin, the devil has acquired a certain domination over man, even though man remains free. Original sin entails ‘captivity under the power of him who thenceforth had the power of death, that is, the devil’. Ignorance of the fact that man has a wounded nature inclined to evil gives rise to serious errors in the areas of education, politics, social action and morals. 408 The consequences of original sin and of all men's personal sins put the world as a whole in the sinful condition aptly described in St John's expression, ‘the sin of the world’. This expression can also refer to the negative influence exerted on people by communal situations and social structures that are the fruit of men's sins. 409 This dramatic situation of ‘the whole world [which] is in the power of the evil one’ makes man's life a battle: The whole of man's history has been the story of dour combat with the powers of evil, stretching, so our Lord tells us, from the very dawn of history until the last day. Finding himself in the midst of the battlefield man has to struggle to do what is right, and it is at great cost to himself, and aided by God's grace, that he succeeds in achieving his own inner integrity. 410 After his fall, man was not abandoned by God. On the contrary, God calls him and in a mysterious way heralds the coming victory over evil and his restoration from his fall. This passage in Genesis is called the Protoevangelium (‘first gospel’): the first announcement of the Messiah and Redeemer, of a battle between the serpent and the Woman, and of the final victory of a descendant of hers. 411 The Christian tradition sees in this passage an announcement of the ‘New Adam’ who, because he ‘became obedient unto death, even death on a cross’, makes amends superabundantly for the disobedience of Adam. Furthermore, many Fathers and Doctors of the Church have seen the woman announced in the Protoevangelium as Mary, the mother of Christ, the ‘new Eve’. Mary benefitted first of all and uniquely from Christ's victory over sin: she was preserved from all stain of original sin and by a special grace of God committed no sin of any kind during her whole earthly life. 412 But why did God not prevent the first man from sinning? St Leo the Great responds: ‘Christ's inexpressible grace gave us blessings better than those the demon's envy had taken away’. And St Thomas Aquinas wrote: ‘There is nothing to prevent human nature's being raised up to something greater, even after sin; God permits evil in order to draw forth some greater good. Thus St Paul says: “Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more”; and the Exsultet [sung at the Easter Vigil Mass] sings, “O happy fault … which gained for us so great a Redeemer!”’ 9

ICHRISTIANS, HAVE A DREAM PERSECUTED

What is our Governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Attitude? Part 2 The author is the Anglican Bishop of Truro, who last year led an Enquiry into the persecution of Christians worldwide and the attitudes of the UK Government towards it. In this talk he spoke about the experience and his findings to the members of the Catholic Union. The first part of his talk was in the September edition of Oremus.

Bishop Philip Mountstephen If you lift the stone of persecution and look underneath, what is it that you find? You find gang welfare on an industrial scale driven by drug crime; you find authoritarian, totalitarian regimes that are intolerant both of dissent and of minorities; you find aggressive militant nationalism that insists on uniformity; you find religious zealotry and fundamentalism in many different forms that often manifests itself in violence. And you often find those phenomena combined, too. In other words, we find massive threats to human flourishing and harmonious communities and ultimately we find in those things significant threats to our own security as well. So if we care about those issues we should certainly care about the persecution of Christians and about Freedom of Religion or Belief more generally. We can no longer say that this is a sidebar issue of a special interest group. These are huge issues that we face in the world today. The time for inaction and indifference is over. And therefore, as the Report argues, if the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) takes this issue with the seriousness it undoubtedly deserves, then it will simply enable them to do their job better, by helping them to address some very serious current global phenomena. So how is the FCO doing? To be honest it's all a bit 'curate's egg' - good in parts, but really not very good in others. One problem is that many diplomats don't stay very long in post, so don't really get to know the country in the way they should. And much depends, too, on the attitude and commitment of individual diplomats rather than on the implementation of FCO policy. The FCO has something called the Freedom of Religion or Belief Toolkit, which posts are supposed to be using, but many don't and some didn't even know it existed. It requires posts to engage in advocacy on behalf of individuals and minority communities: and again, some do but many don't. Many people said the FCO used to be better at this than it is now. Some diplomats, sadly, aren't really bothered by it all, are blind to issues of faith and simply don't understand it. On the other hand, as the Report argues, abuse of FoRB almost certainly intersects with other key issues which the FCO certainly does take seriously: issues such as gender equality, modern slavery, forced marriage, people trafficking and poverty reduction. So, for example, if you are a Christian woman in the global south you're much more likely to be the victim of those things. So if the FCO cares about those issues, as it says it does, then it should certainly be concerned about Christian persecution. And being blind to faith sometimes leads to persecution continuing, even in refugee camps where 10

Christians still remain a minority. So the overall verdict has to be: could do much better. So what do we recommend? As I said earlier: if you lift the stone of persecution and look underneath, you find some very unpleasant things. So if we care about those issues we should certainly care about the persecution of Christians and about Freedom of Religion or Belief more generally. And that is why the Recommendations of the Review are as bold and far reaching as I believe them to be. There are two main thrusts to them. Central is the argument that the FCO should promote FoRB indiscriminately and for all, and not just Christians. I argue that for two main reasons: first, to single out any one community just makes it even more vulnerable, and we have to avoid that. That's why the recommendations warn against unintentional 'othering': indeed, my conviction is that the single best way to protect Christians from persecution is to guarantee Freedom of Religion or Belief for everyone. And secondly it is simply not part of the Christian tradition to seek special favours. We must love our neighbours indiscriminately, without picking and choosing and exercising any favouritism or making a special case for ourselves. So the first main thrust is that the FCO should promote FoRB indiscriminately and for all. And the second is that the FCO must address this issue much more proactively and face it head on. I say again: this is not a peripheral issue that can be relegated to the side-lines. It touches on key and critical issues in the world today. Specifically we made 22 recommendations. I'm not going to go through them each individually, but rather I want to highlight the three headings they sit under, because I think they're important, and perhaps overlooked. The first heading is Strategy and Structures. This looks at the FCO in the round, at the centre, and argues that FoRB should be central to the FCO's culture, policies and international operations. Clearly that is a step change, but in the light of what I've said I think it's essential, for reasons of national self-interest and security, leaving aside the moral imperative that we should do so. The second heading is Education and Engagement, in which we encourage the FCO both to up its game in terms of developing religious literacy and to use that understanding to develop religiously literate local operational approaches that take context seriously, and endeavour to understand that context not just through western eyes; because if you only see that context in your own terms you will never be able effectively to engage in it. Oremus

October 2020

BEHIND BARS

Traffickers Sentenced And the third heading is Consistency and Co-ordination. This has been in some ways the most controversial area and we faced criticism for focusing only on the FCO and not on Government more widely. But to focus on Government more widely was simply not in the Foreign Secretary's gift and it was not, therefore, in our Terms of Reference. However, we do signpost some effective ways in which we believe that the FCO and the Foreign Secretary can lead across Government, and frankly this does need a cross-governmental approach that touches, for instance, on the work of the Home Office and DfID to name just two departments. [Since this talk was given, International Development has been absorbed into the renamed Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office] And I'm delighted to say that's just what's happening. One of the last things that Alan Duncan MP did before leaving office was to announce that not just the FCO, but the Government as whole accepted the recommendations of the report in full. That was certainly more than I hoped for or expected. And I was delighted, too, that the new Government confirmed that commitment and indeed that the Prime Minister appointed Rehman Chishti MP as his Special Envoy for FoRB. I've been delighted with the way he has taken on the challenge of implementing the recommendations with such energy and élan. We must defend liberal democracy and the freedoms it guarantees us, including Freedom of Religion or Belief. It's needed now more than ever. We must stand against all those who would betray and undermine it through violence, through crime, through militant nationalism, through authoritarianism, through religious fundamentalism and bigotry. It matters hugely, I believe, to our world today that we should do that. And it matters hugely that we should defend those many whose welfare, liberty, communities, families and very lives are put at risk by those dark forces. So I hope these recommendations make a very significant difference in the days to come. I was proud to present them to the Foreign Secretary, and deeply honoured that he commissioned me to do so. In one of his first speeches to the House of Commons on the Slave Trade, as he presented Thomas Clarkson's monumental report on the phenomenon, William Wilberforce said this: 'You may choose to look the other way, but you can never again say you did not know'. Well, we now know this is a huge problem, too. May God give us strength not to look away, but, as a country, to do what needs to be done, as Wilberforce and others in his time did. October 2020

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Caritas Bakhita House has helped to secure jail sentences for two traffickers operating in London. The House team acted as point of contact for the victim in her communications with the Metropolitan police. The project, managed by Caritas Westminster, played a vital role in ensuring that these two men were convicted for their crimes. In addition to this, the House provided practical support to the victim and organised her safe return to her home country, in partnership with International Justice Mission and police. The victim arrived from Romania in April 2019 on the understanding that she would be working in a factory. Instead, she was trafficked and forced into prostitution. She only escaped from her situation by acquiring a mobile phone and contacting her family to tell them what had happened. They made contact with Romanian police who alerted the UK. She was rescued by the Met and taken to the safety of Bakhita House to begin her recovery, being seven months pregnant. Upon arrival, she was registered with a midwife and the local doctor’s surgery and was supported through sexual health checks and necessary vaccinations. The team helped her to apply for a HC2 certificate, which allowed her to access free medical treatment, including access to an eye test and prescription glasses. She was also provided with necessary clothing and toiletries. In addition to medical support, she was given the opportunity to develop skills and maintain contact with family at home, attending classes to improve her English and receiving budgeting lessons. One of the House volunteers speaks Romanian and was able to assist the team for the duration of the guest’s stay. It was her wish to have her baby at home in Romania, for which a support plan and risk assessment were completed. The police accompanied her to the Romanian embassy to obtain a temporary travel document, as she was not in possession of a passport or ID card. International Justice Mission took responsibility for her care and support in Romania, including collection from the airport, facilitating return to her family and establishing contact with local agencies and support networks. Karen Anstiss, House Service Manager, commented: ‘This result shows that three different agencies with varying roles can work well together, putting the needs of the victim and her unborn child first, but also securing convictions against those who are fuelled by their own greed. Human traffickers have no conscience about the hurt and pain they inflict on others in order to bring about the financial gain they crave’.

CATHEDRAL HISTORY

CATHEDRAL HISTORY – A PICTORIAL RECORD

Sunday 25 October: 1970 The Cathedral Choir sings in St Peter’s, Rome at the Mass of the Canonisation of the Forty Martyrs of England & Wales

1 Paul Tobin In May 1970 Pope St Paul Vl announced the canonisation of the Forty Martyrs, a cause that had originally been instigated in the time of Cardinal Henry Edward Manning (Archbishop of Westminster 1865-1892) when a number of martyrs were beatified. Two of these, Bishop John Fisher and Thomas More had been canonised in 1935. The cause of 40 of the others was taken up in earnest by Cardinal William Godfrey (Archbishop of Westminster 1956-1963), with the eminent Jesuits Frs Philip Caraman, James Walsh and Clement Tigar acting as Vice-Postulants for the cause during the 1960s.

to succeed Cardinal Heenan as Archbishop of Westminster in 1976. Immediately next to him is Abbot Victor Farwell of Worth. The figure in the front row of the tribune behind is the Dr H R Smythe, Head of the Anglican Centre in Rome, representing the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Mass was celebrated by the Holy Father alone, for concelebrated Masses had nor become as popular as they were later to be. Bear in mind that the Ordinary Form of Mass (Novus Ordo Missae) had only been in use for less than a year. 2

What made this a unique event in the history of the Cathedral Choir was that it was the first occasion that any choir, other than the Sistine, had ever sung at a Papal Ceremony in St Peter’s. In granting permission, Mgr (later Cardinal) Domenico Bartolucci, Maestro Perpetuo of the Sistine Choir, acknowledged that this was a particular event in the history of the Church in England and Wales. For the record, the choir sang the Kyrie, Gloria and Agnus Dei from the Mass for Five Voices by William Byrd. Image 1 shows the Papal procession at the beginning of the Mass; in the front row of seats are a number of cardinals, among whom is Cardinal John Carmel Heenan, then Archbishop of Westminster (second left) with Cardinal William Conway (Archbishop of Armagh 1963-1977) next but one. Behind the two empty gold-backed chairs and prie-dieu, are two figures in black, one of whom is instantly recognisable as Abbot Basil Hume of Ampleforth, who was 12

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CATHEDRAL HISTORY

Image 2 shows Cardinal Paolo Bertoli as Cardinal Prefect of the Sacred Congregation of the Cause of the Saints inviting the Holy Father to proclaim the new saints. Note the mitred Cardinal Deacons sitting either side of the Pope, with the Principal Master of Ceremonies, Mgr (later Cardinal) Vigilio Noe immediately to the right. Image 3 shows the Cathedral Choir to the right, with Colin Mawby (1936-2019, Master of Music 1961-78) standing apart from the main group.

Acknowledgments: The Tablet 31 October 1970; Pontificia Fotografia Felici (donated by Mrs Christine Kiely, Cathedral staff, in February 2000)

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MEDIEVAL SURVIVALS IN OXFORD

The ‘Laudian Vestments’ of St John’s College Fr John Scott The College of St John the Baptist was founded in 1555 by Sir Thomas White, a wealthy London merchant tailor. It took over the premises of St Bernard's College, founded in 1437 by Henry Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury, for Cistercian monks studying at Oxford University. The College had been suppressed at the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1536, and in 1546 the buildings were granted by Henry VIII to his own new collegiate foundation, Christ Church. It was from Christ Church that Thomas White bought the buildings and land to the east of them. The first members of the new College took up residence in 1557. White was Master of the Merchant Taylors' Company, one of the City livery companies, and he established several educational foundations including the Merchant Taylors' schools. Most medieval colleges had been established by churchmen: St John’s was the first in Oxford to be founded by a merchant, and one who was committed to the old Faith. It can also claim two prominent martyrs amongst its former Fellows: Ss Cuthbert Mayne and Edmund Campion SJ

It must have been a blow to White to witness the death of Queen Mary and the accession of Elizabeth, with the establishment of the Protestant Church of England, before he himself died. That, of course, is a story repeated countless times in that unhappy period, although White’s College went on to thrive, not least through shrewd endowment in its early days, and continues to do so. However, St John’s holds some precious survivals from its foundation in the form of 15th and 16th-century ecclesiastical fabrics, many of them plausibly provided for the use of the new College’s chapel. These have become known as the ‘Laudian vestments’, named after William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury (1633 – 1645), who had been President of the College for 10 years from 1611. To be termed ‘Laudian’ was not generally a term of praise; Laud was noted for high-handed Anglican High Churchmanship, for which he suffered by execution from which King Charles I was not able to save him. There are no shoulder seams on the dalmatics, which means that the pattern of the fabric appears the right way up on one side of the vestment and upside down (visible here) on the other. Were the 16th-century clergy of St John’s always careful about getting front and back the right way round?

The College Chapel has a small side chapel containing memorials to deceased Presidents and Fellows of the College, as well as a delightful fan-vaulted ceiling. The altar has a frontal, clearly made from an old cope, featuring a crucifixion scene surrounded by bells, angels and decorative motifs.

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MEDIEVAL SURVIVALS IN OXFORD

Part 1

Central to the Collection are three pieces from a High Mass set. It seems that all the smaller pieces – stoles, maniples, burse and chalice veil – have disappeared, as well as, sadly, the chasuble. What remains are two satin dalmatics and a cope. As is often the case, the dalmatics are identical, although the one worn by the Sub-Deacon would be termed a tunicle.

The cope of the set eschews biblical or ecclesiastical imagery in favour of decorative motif, set against the large pattern of the main fabric.

A second cope, however, whilst utilizing a very strongly-contrasted dark blue and gold pattern for its body, has orphreys with images of saints and, on its hood, the Father and the Son crowning Our Lady as Queen of Heaven.

It is only in more recent years that the Collection has been put on display by St John’s, the present arrangements being two hours on a term-time Saturday afternoon three times a year. Fr John, himself an alumnus of the College, and Richard Hawker, the Cathedral’s Head Sacristan, travelled to Oxford for the display in March. Whilst the vestments are admirably conserved in temperaturecontrolled conditions under glass, this, combined with low lighting, rendered photography rather frustrating; the reader’s indulgence is requested! October 2020

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CATHEDRAL HISTORY

A Furore, A Russian and a Hiatus Patrick Rogers

The furore over the new Cathedral mosaics in 1934 – 35, followed by the War, resulted in no new mosaics until 1950. The subsequent period was dominated by the Russian, Boris Anrep. The very public row over Gilbert Pownall’s mosaics for the Lady Chapel, sanctuary arch and apse led to Cardinal Hinsley ordering the removal of the latter. His successor, Cardinal Griffin, himself authorised two new mosaics – one representing St Thérèse of Lisieux in the south transept (designed by John Trinick, installed in 1950 and removed in 1958) and the other of ‘Christ the Divine Physician’, a memorial to the officers and men of the Royal Army Medical Corps, designed and installed by Michael Leigh in St George’s Chapel in 1952.

theme is the Trinity – Abraham’s guests again, the Three Youths in the Fiery Furnace and the Trinity itself high in the apse. Anrep chose a traditional, early Christian, style and a predominantly pale pink background to give a sense of light Christ, the Divine Healer, by and to blend in with St George’s Chapel, the work of the marbles. Together Michael Leigh with his assistant, Justin Vulliamy, and using the indirect method, Anrep then produced full-sized coloured cartoons of the designs in his Paris studio and sent these to Venice where tesserae from Angelo Orsoni’s workshop were attached and the results crated and sent to London. The installation of the mosaics took place from 1960 – 62, with Peter Indri doing the fixing and Anrep himself, wreathed in smoke from his habitual Gauloises cigarettes, making constant adjustments.

St Paul’s Conversion, in his Chapel, the work of Justin Vulliamy

In 1954 the reconstituted Advisory Committee had asked Boris Anrep to design a new sanctuary arch mosaic, but his estimate was too high. A Russian by birth, Anrep had been responsible for the mosaic on the vault of the Inner Crypt in 1914. But this was interrupted by the War when he returned to Russia to lead his troop of Cossacks, rescuing church icons in the process. After the Russian Revolution he returned to England. In 1924 he produced in situ the mosaic of St Oliver Plunkett outside St Patrick’s Chapel and in 1937 he designed mosaics for this chapel, but they were (again) judged too costly. Anrep was now offered the Blessed Sacrament Chapel and in 1956 he produced a model with three main themes illustrated by scenes from the Old Testament (in the chapel nave) and from the New (in the apse). The first is Sacrifice – on the left Abel, then Abraham, Malachi and Samuel; on the right Noah. Interwoven with this theme is that of the Eucharist with the Hospitality of Abraham, the Gathering of Manna, Abraham and Melchisedek and an angel persuading Elijah to eat, continuing with ears of wheat and grapes vines in the window arches into the apse with the Wedding feast at Cana and the Feeding of the Five Thousand. The third 16

The Lamb Once Slain in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, the work of Boris Anrep

Meanwhile Aelred Bartlett, brother of the Cathedral SubAdministrator, had produced the vine and star mosaics in the transept arches and the Roman-style representation of St Nicholas in the north aisle in 1961. But for St Paul’s Chapel the committee turned again to Anrep, now almost 80 years old. He provided a scheme in 1961, but arranged that his assistant, Justin Vulliamy, fresh from producing a mosaic of St Christopher in the north aisle, take over. Using the indirect Oremus

October 2020

CATHEDRAL HISTORY method again, the mosaics, showing St Paul’s conversion shipwreck off Malta, place of execution and occupation as tent-maker (the tent on the vault), were prepared in Paris and Venice in 1962 -63 and installed by Peter Indri in 1964 -65. Anrep acted as adviser and detailed the principal figures, but disliked the final result and distanced himself from it. He died in 1969, aged 85. After all this activity there was a prolonged lull in the Cathedral decoration, for which there were three reasons. Cardinal Heenan had succeeded as archbishop of Westminster in 1963, and although he allowed the work under way to continue, he believed that there things should end. In the words of his new Administrator in 1964: ‘It is time to turn our minds to the plight of men and women in undeveloped countries’. Secondly, the Second Vatican Council was underway, one of its aims being to concentrate on essentials. Thirdly, there was no money. So it was that no new mosaics went up until 1982when. To commemorate the The Martyr St Oliver Plunkett by visit of Pope (now St) St Patrick’s Chapel, also the work of John Paul II that year, Boris Anrep a mosaic designed by Nicolete Gray was installed over the unused north-west entrance from Ambrosden Avenue. In 1895 J F Bentley, the Cathedral Architect, had produced a pencilled sketch for a mosaic here, showing Our Lady and the Christ Child with a saint on either side. This was now ignored in favour of the inscription Porta sis ostium pacificum per eum qui se ostium appellavit, Iesum Christum (May this door be the gate of peace through him who called himself the gate, Jesus Christ). Nicolete Gray was an epigrapher, a maker of designs with capital letters. She also designed the memorial of the Pope’s 1982 visit in front of the main sanctuary and the inscription on Cardinal Heenan’s tomb (1976) in the south aisle, but her design for the north-west entrance was her first in mosaic. It was executed by the mosaicist Trevor Caley. Fifteen years later he returned to the Cathedral for its next mosaic at the entrance to St Patrick’s Chapel. Caley initially envisaged an interpretation of the 7th century stone cross at Carndonagh in Donegal, but this was changed to one of St Patrick shown October 2020

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holding a shamrock and crozier with a writhing snake beneath. Using a mixture of unglazed ceramic material and glittering glass tessarae from Cathedral stocks, Caley produced the mosaic on board in the studio and installed it in March 1999. The next mosaic appeared on the opposite side of the nave two years later. It was of St Alban, the Roman-British soldier execute for his faith. Designed by Christopher Hobbs, it was assembled by Tessa Hunkin in the Hackney studio of Mosaic Workshop using the indirect method and installed in the Cathedral by her and Walter Bernadin in June 2001, in cement composed of ceramic tile adhesive with an additive to increase adhesion and flexibility. The striking representation of St Alban is heavily influenced by early Byzantine iconography; the saint carries a cross as a demonstration of his faith and his other hand is raised in blessing. The red line around his neck symbolises decapitation. The next project was the completion of St Joseph’s Chapel with mosaics, a costly undertaking. After his success with St Alban, Christopher Hobbs was again chosen as the designer. In 2002 his representation of the Holy Family, clearly also drawing on the Byzantine style, was projected onto the apse of the chapel with an overhead projector, and outlines traced onto the surface. The mosaic was installed by Mosaic Workshop in 2003, once again using the indirect method, whilst the design for the west wall of the chapel features craftsmen building the Cathedral, the vault being decorated with a gold basket-weave pattern.

The Cathedral Builders in St Joseph’s Chapel, the work of Christopher Hobbs

Meanwhile the Friends of the Cathedral were at work raising money for mosaics in the small Chapel of St Thomas Becket (the Vaughan Chantry). Here the east wall shows St Thomas standing in front of the old Canterbury Cathedral, whilst on the west wall his martyrdom at the hands of the knights is depicted, with a delightful pattern of tendrils, flowers and roundels against a deep blue background for the vault above. The designs are a masterly combination of medieval English scenes with the Byzantine style; installation by Mosaic Workshop took place in 2004. Photographs © Fr Lawrence Lew OP

MONTHLY ALBUM

Back to Study We recently said farewell to Lorcán Keller, who leaves the Cathedral to move down the road to Allen Hall in Chelsea as a diocesan seminarian. He has been visible in the Cathedral of late, helping with the stewarding, but his time here has been spent at the desk preparing the many booklets and sheets needed for both regular and special services, as well as carrying out a whole range of other design work. His farewell card, you may be able to see, features a group of gorillas and the text ‘Where are you going to find such a diverse bunch of likeable characters as us?’

Boxed In With the return of the choir, it was time for a Maintenance Department Special! The Art and Architecture Committee has not, so far as we know, given a verdict yet on the perspex box which now either protects the conductor from the choir or vice versa. The hope is that it will not be needed permanently; and perhaps future generations will find the box at the back of the Crypt Store, as we now find many other disused artefacts, and wonder what its use could ever have been.

Seen, but not Venerated The Exaltation of the Holy Cross is also the feast when we are normally able to venerate one of the Cathedral’s two relics of the True Cross. Should the feast fall on a Sunday, numbers make it impracticable to allow individual veneration, but otherwise this is a treasured act of Cathedral devotion. Coronavirus precautions made veneration impossible this year; here, however, is one of the relics in close-up. 18

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MONTHLY ALBUM

A Mini-Pilgrimage With so many events delayed this year – baptisms, confirmations, receptions and ordinations – one event took place early. Covid-19 has wreaked havoc on the pilgrimage season, but at least a permitted number of the faithful could come on pilgrimage to the Cathedral to honour Our Lady of Walsingham. Her feast falls on 24 September, formerly the feast of Our Lady of Ransom, and a Thursday this year, so Saturday 12th as the feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary proved to be a more than adequate substitute day.

Good to Go

The containers for the Holy Oils would have been brought out and polished up for the Chrism Mass on the Tuesday in Holy Week. That, of course, did not take place, but was able to be celebrated on 14 September, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Examination of the hallmarks reveals that the containers themselves date back to 1930; the bowl and spoon seen with them is used for preparation of the balsam which is infused into the Oil of Chrism.

Mr John Sales R.I.P. We are sad to report the death on 13 September of John Sales, here pictured at his wedding, who was a Sacristan at the Cathedral from 1962 to 1972, although he appears to have been involved here earlier than that. May he rest in peace. John’s son, Joseph, asks if we have any photographs or other records of his father. Unfortunately we have no central catalogue of images and it seems that sacristans, often seen at their work, have not often been the focus of interest, with those of more recent times being notably camera-shy. The Cathedral News Sheet of the 60s and 70s never included images, so Oremus takes this opportunity of ensuring that the memory of Mr Sales is recorded. October 2020

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DIARY

2020

St Wilfrid (feast day 12 October) was an effective, not to say pugnacious pastor of the Church in this country. Raised on Lindisfarne, he had become Abbot of Ripon in 658 at the age of 24, having already travelled to Lyons and Rome. Campaigning zealously to conform English church life to Roman models, he became Bishop of York but faced difficulties before succeeding in taking possession of the see in 669. Twice in subsequent years he was forced into exile, but was vindicated by Rome on both occasions. Finally, in 703, he retired to the monastery in Ripon for a life of prayer, where he died six years later.

OCTOBER

St Wilfrid’s church in York is staffed by priests of the Oratory

The Month of

The Cathedral opens 30 minutes before each Mass and closes for cleaning after each Mass.

The Holy Father’s Prayer Intention

Service times, Monday to Saturday: 8am Mass, 10.30am Mass (Latin, Monday to Saturday), 12.30pm Mass, 5.30pm Mass (streamed), Confessions: 12-12.30pm, 5-5.30pm The Cathedral is open for prayer 2-4.30pm Monday to Friday

October

Evangelisation – The Laity’s Mission in the Church

Service times on Sundays: Saturday 5.30pm Vigil Mass (Organ, streamed), 8am Mass, 10.30am Solemn Mass (Choir, streamed), 12.30pm Mass (Organ), 3pm Solemn Vespers & Benediction (Choir, streamed only), 4pm Mass, 6pm Mass (Organ, streamed), Confessions: 12-12.30pm, 5.30-6pm

We pray that by the virtue of baptism, the laity, especially women, may participate more in areas of responsibility in the Church.

Thursday 1 October

Ps Week 2 St Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor 10.30am Red Mass

Saturday 10 October

Blessed Virgin Mary on Saturday (St Paulinus of York St Denis, Bishop, and Companions, Martyrs St John Leonardi, Priest)

Friday 2 October Friday abstinence The Holy Guardian Angels * Harvest Fast Day Saturday 3 October

Blessed Virgin Mary on Saturday

Monday 5 October

Feria (St Faustina Kowalska, Virgin)

Tuesday 6 October Feria (St Bruno, Priest)

Wednesday 7 October

Our Lady of the Rosary

St Thérèse of Lisieux in Lille Cathedral 20

Thursday 8 October

Feria

Friday 9 October

Friday abstinence St JOHN HENRY NEWMAN, Priest

Sunday 4 October Ps Week 3 27th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 10.30am Solemn Mass (Full Choir) Croce – Missa prima: sexti toni Lassus – Iubilate Deo omnis terra Mozart – Ave verum corpus Organ: Praeludium in G minor BuxWV149 – Buxtehude 3.00pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction Andreas – Magnificat sexti toni Palestrina – Ego sum panis vivus Organ: Etude de Concert – Bonnet St Paulinus of York baptises King Edwin of Northumberland

Sunday 11 October

Ps Week 4 28th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME * Week of Prayer for Prisoners and their Families 10.30am Solemn Mass (Full Choir) Byrd – Mass for five voices Palestrina – Sicut cervus Organ – Final – Franck 3.00pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction Incertus – Magnificat tertii toni Palestrina – Sitivit anima mea Organ: Magnificat primi toni BuxWV203 – Buxtehude Oremus

October 2020

DIARY AND NOTICES Monday 12 October

Monday 19 October

Feria (St Wilfrid, Bishop) 5.30pm Vigil Mass of St Edward the Confessor

Tuesday 13 October

Wednesday 14 October

Feria

Tuesday 20 October

Thursday 29 October

Wednesday 21 October

Friday 30 October

Thursday 22 October

Saturday 31 October

Wednesday 28 October

Ss SIMON and JUDE, Apostles

Feria

ST EDWARD THE CONFESSOR, Patron of the Diocese and of the City of Westminster 5.30pm Mass of St Edward the Confessor Feria (St Callistus I, Pope & Martyr)

Tuesday 27 October

Feria (Ss John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests, and Companions, Martyrs St Paul of the Cross, Priest)

Blessed Martyrs of Douai College

Feria

Ps Week 4

Feria

Blessed Virgin Mary on Saturday 2.30pm Mass of Ordination to the Diaconate (Bishop McAleenan) 5.30pm Vigil Mass – fulfils obligation for All Saints’ Day

Friday 23 October

St Teresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor

Friday abstinence Feria (St John of Capistrano, Priest)

Friday 16 October

Saturday 24 October

Thursday 15 October

Friday abstinence Feria (St Hedwig, Religious St Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin)

Key to the Diary: Saints’ days and holy days written in BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS denote Sundays and Solemnities, CAPITAL LETTERS denote Feasts, and those not in capitals denote Memorials, whether optional or otherwise. Memorials in brackets are not celebrated liturgically.

Blessed Virgin Mary on Saturday (St Anthony Mary Claret, Bishop)

Sunday 25 October

Ps Week 2 30th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME 10.30am Solemn Mass (Men’s Voices) Lassus – Missa quinti toni Lassus – Domine vivifica me Tallis – Salvator mundi (II) Organ: Allegro maestoso (Sonata in G) – Elgar 3.00pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction de Monte – Magnificat octavi toni Ockeghem – Ave Maria Organ: Toccata quinta – Muffat

Saturday 17 October

St Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr

Monday 26 October

What Happens and When

Feria (Ss Chad and Cedd, Bishops)

The Opening Hours of the Cathedral, the closures for cleaning and the times of public liturgy are published here in Oremus, on the Cathedral website and via Social Media. Please be assured that all booked Mass intentions continue to be fulfilled by the Chaplains.

St Ignatius of Antioch is martyred in the arena by wild beasts

Throughout the Year

Ps Week 1 29th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME * World Mission Day 10.30am Solemn Mass (Men’s voices) Lassus – Missa Triste départ Palestrina – Meditabor in mandatis tuis Croce – O sacrum convivium Organ: Toccata – Vierne 3.00pm Solemn Vespers and Benediction Guerrero – Magnificat primi toni Cornysh – Ave Maria mater Dei Organ: Fuga sopra il Magnificat BWV733 – J S Bach October 2020

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St Chad looks out from his church in Rochdale

Sunday 18 October

At the time of going to press it remains unclear when and where it will be possible for the various groups attached to the Cathedral to meet. As soon as information becomes known, it will be published in the weekly Newsletter and on the News pages of the Cathedral website. Thank you for your patience. 21

FRIENDS' PAGE

A Walk in the Park through his verse. The poem inspired me to take a walk in St James’s Park. I liked the contrast between the squirrel intent on gathering food for winter and the tropical planting.

Christina White Richard Hawker popped by the Friends’ Office this week to discuss his forthcoming tour of the Sacristy. As Head Sacristan, he was one of the contributors to the Memorial Booklet for Canon Christopher. He told me that a friend from Shrewsbury Diocese had got in touch after reading the booklet which, in turn, had been shared by a Friend. We agreed that the Cathedral’s reach is wide and that, in no small measure, is a tribute to all the Friends across the country and further. I hope Richard’s tour attracts a large and appreciative audience. He is responsible for unearthing some of the most beautiful and under-used vestments and altar frontals which now grace the Cathedral. I travelled in by tube this week and was pleased to see a poem from John O’Donohue Time to be Still on the wall as part of London Underground’s poetry series. The verse was shared widely in lockdown and the journalist Fergal Keane also read it aloud on Radio 4. It seemed so apposite for these Covid-19 times, and I have shared it in the autumn newsletter. O’Donohue, now deceased, had been a Catholic priest in his younger years and that vocation shines

Of course, we go to press with the Covid-19 Regulations changing. We decided sensibly to focus the majority of events online, which now seems like a good call, but the walking tours will be restricted to no more than six people including the tour leaders – Paul Pickering and Joanna Bogle. Paul’s tour at the time of writing was therefore already ‘sold out’. Friends please note, there will be no Christmas Fair this year, but please sell the raffle tickets which have been enclosed with the mailing. There will also be tickets on sale via Clergy House – books only, we are not selling individual tickets this year. As notified last month, we have already secured the pledges for our online Big Give campaign, which means that your donations to our appeal for Cathedral Communications will be doubled. There will be more information in the Cathedral Newsletter and on the website in the weeks to come. In the meantime, we continue to collect funds for the Canon Tuckwell Memorial Fund and donations to this and Big Give will be treated as being ‘in Father’s memory’. Our Memorial Booklet is available to all Friends of the Cathedral, or you can make a donation of £30 or more to the Memorial Fund and you will receive a copy. Payment for our events and donations to the Memorial Fund may be made via our Virgin Money Giving Account (we are not accepting cash). It is the simplest and easiest way to pay: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/giving/ make-a-donation/ We will also have a Friends’ payment link on the Cathedral website. If you wish to pay for an event by cheque, then the cheque will need to have cleared well in advance. There are full details of the payment conditions in the autumn newsletter.

Finally, please help us to grow membership of the Friends whom the Cathedral needs more than ever. You can download an application form from the Cathedral website, we can email you a form, or there are paper forms in the Cathedral. Keep well.

Forthcoming Events Tuesday 6 October: Online Cathedral Quiz via Zoom with Fr Daniel Humphreys as Quizmaster. 7pm £10. Wednesday 14 October: Online talk via Zoom by Fr Nicholas Schofield: Defending the Papal States in Italy: the Britons who marched for the Pope. 7pm £5. Thursday 22 October: Online talk via Zoom by Professor Caroline Barron of King’s College, London on St Thomas Becket 7pm £5. Monday 26 October: Joanna Bogle, a walking tour focused on London’s Marian shrines. Meet at St Dominic’s church, Haverstock Hill at 1.45pm for the tour, to start at 2pm £10 (please note current restrictions). Wednesday 4 November: Online talk via Zoom by Professor John Harvey on his novel Pax, looking at the complicated life of the painter Peter Paul Rubens. The talk will be live at 7pm £5. Thursday 19 November: An online private tour of the treasures of the Cathedral sacristy with Head Sacristan Richard Hawker in conversation with Professor Andrew Sanders. The video of the tour will be online at 7pm £10.

Contact us • Write to: Friends’ Office, 42 Francis Street, London SW1P 1QW • Call: 020 7798 9059 • Email: friends@ westminstercathedral.org.uk Registered Charity number 272899

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October 2020

COMING INTO THE CHURCH

The Gentle Whisper of God The usual Baptisms, Confirmation and Receptions into the Church which mark the Easter Vigil had to be delayed until the Cathedral reopened for public worship. They have now taken place and one candidate writes here of his spiritual journey. In April 2018, I sat at home dejected and feeling like a moral and spiritual failure. I felt angry with God, feeling like my prayers, and petition were falling on deaf ears. Shortly after in the stillness of the room I sensed a subtle presence beside me in a way I had never experienced. I felt a shift in consciousness and a conviction that God is real, and that I wasn’t alone. At the same time, I heard a whisper, saying, ‘Go to church’. My spiritual journey began in 1994. At 20 years of age, I had become addicted to drugs and alcohol. I found myself homeless, destitute and hopeless. My parents secured a place for me in a 12 step-based residential rehab centre. Having grown up with an atheist father and non-religious mother, it was hard to believe in a higher power which could change my life, as part of the programme. But out of desperation I began to pray and ask for help. Miraculously, from then on, I felt my life start to transform. Broken relationships were restored. Having been expelled from school, I went back to college then on to university. I gained meaningful employment. Slowly I started believing in God and his love. At the centre of this was the AA programme. There have been trials, disasters and regressive episodes. But I’ve been sober over 10 years now and still attending AA which opened the door to faith in my life as well. I had never, however, felt inspired to go to church. That night, after the incident, I suddenly found myself eagerly making way to the local Catholic church. I remember shedding lots of tears during that Mass. I began to pray asking Jesus for the ‘fullest possible union with him’. I remember feeling I was being led. I can’t remember when I stumbled on Westminster Cathedral. Upon entering I felt strangely comforted by the lingering aroma of incense and the majestic spiritual atmosphere. I made a decision then, that this would be my place of worship. After much dithering, I finally summoned the courage to ask for baptism. I met with the priest who informed me that the new catechumenate year was starting in a matter of days! I entered the pre-catechumenate phase in May. It involved informal sessions, focused on Scripture, using Lectio Divina. It allowed our group, which was an eclectic mix of individuals, to know each other, bringing a multitude of spiritual experiences to our weekly discourse. We also had some wonderful catechists who were an integral part of the journey, providing support and guidance. The main catechesis began in September. Some of the classes were difficult to digest and often sparked intense internal debate. The Act of Creation, Trinity, Eschatology to name a few, called for ardent contemplation. I would leave class do further research seeking clarity. Slowly, I felt God giving me greater understanding, unravelling some October 2020

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A group of this year’s new Catholics

of my questions, though others required a leap of faith. I began to understand the grace available in the Mass and the Sacraments; I was struck by the wisdom of the Church, handed on in its Tradition from over two millenia of reflection on the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. The classes were delivered by articulate speakers who tackled very difficult issues. We were encouraged to reflect in our groups and share our experience which produced meaningful debate. As the months passed, I found my faith and commitment fortified and my sights firmly focused on the Easter Vigil: then Covid-19 struck! During lockdown our fellowship continued through weekly online meetings. One particularly moving experience of many during this period was when we prayed the Stations of the Cross together sharing Christ’s passion. Online resources were shared in abundance. I gained some solace following the Easter Vigil and Masses online. After several months of impatient waiting, we finally had the good news of the Cathedral reopening and shortly after, we had a date in August for our Baptisms. As the day arrived, I had truly come to believe that I would be made new from above and my sins would be washed away. Notwithstanding the Covid restrictions, the majesty of the Cathedral and the ancient, sacred tradition of the Mass created a celestial experience. As I approached the altar to receive the Body of Christ it struck me that what I had asked Jesus without understanding, for ‘the fullest possible union’ two years ago, he had fulfilled. I knew I would never be the same again. I could identify with the words of Fr Rajiv: ‘The journey has just begun’. 23

THE PANDEMIC, SOUTH AMERICAN-STYLE

News from the Missions The Home News which we see rightly tells of many facing unemployment, poverty and homelessness, but we are still relatively protected. Those in other parts of the world are not so fortunate. Fr Ed Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connell We are now in a situation where we have to ride out the storm. The medical facilities available are overrun and the medical staff are exhausted. The Covid-19 has increased to above 8,000 new cases daily. The number of deaths now average over 200 daily. Those under 14 can go out for half an hour a day accompanied by an adult but those over 65 continue in lockdown. The curfew in Peru is from 10pm to 4am. Sundays have again been declared lockdown days and six departments are in full-time lockdown along with 34 provinces in different parts of the country. There is no down slope, the people are out and about infecting each other, even children when the adults come home from work. As a result, the Children's Hospital in Lima is inundated with cases. Many staff are off sick with Covid-19, those left are finding it difficult to cope and are exhausted covering so many shifts. July saw 2,900 children affected by Covid-19, an increase of 75% in the month of July. From March to July 50 children under 11 have died and up to June 7,622 adolescents infected with 22 having died. I think we are on a second plateau, higher than the first. The total number of cases of coronavirus on 12 August in Peru was 498,555 with 55% in Lima and Callao, and 21,713 deaths, with 52% in Lima and Callao. Cajamarca is being hard hit, with between 80 to 100,000 people having returned there from Lima and Chiclayo. In the last two weeks the number of cases have doubled. This is being repeated in many regions of the country, due to lack of social distancing and testing, the opening up of economic activities and internal migration. I accompany Manuel Duato Special Needs School, a Columban project. The teachers are in virtual contact with the parents and through them with nearly 400 children. We have helped 44 families on two occasions, as they have little to no income and are desperate. The teachers are exhausted and worried. Last week two fathers, of our Manuel Duato's Friends Over-18 Club for the severely mentally challenged, died, leaving their adult children without the support and love they had grown accustomed to receiving. Five students have had Covid-19, with one still in danger. In Ayacucho, we are communicating virtually with the parents, teachers and municipal officials to remind them constantly of the steps needed to protect themselves and their children. We have given out all the books from the reading clubs, so that the children have something to read at home and spent the last two weeks with a training programme for all teachers of the Province on bio-security for themselves and for them to communicate the same 24

Fr Ed with parishioners - before the pandemic

message to all their students, mostly by WhatsApp. We also have radio contact with the children, telling stories and getting them to send in their own. In San Benito, the mothers of the four homework clubs have started communal kitchens and a key local community leader started another communal kitchen. The number of families helped in the five communal kitchens has increased to 190, with an average of five per family, so you have 950 people receiving a meal each day. We are in the middle of winter and with the help of friends, we have managed to distribute second-hand clothes to families in need and a bed to one family who were sleeping on the floor. Often, I am told, that in San Benito the children are the ones reminding their mothers to put on their masks before going out, so our training through WhatsApp is working! I am in touch with groups of Venezuelan families; one of these, a family of six, is in desperate straits. They lost their accommodation and have been sleeping on a thirdstorey flat roof, with just a plastic covering and some old blankets to keep them dry and warm. With friends, we are trying to find them somewhere to stay. I have been able to offer them three months rent, hopefully to tide them over this difficult moment. The people try to be resilient, they keep going and many share what they have with others when the need arises. Many Peruvians started their lives in poverty and gradually improved their lot but now many, of the 70% who work in the informal sector, are destined to return to poverty. Fr Ed is a Columban missionary priest based in Peru. Oremus

October 2020

FROM THE MIDDAY ANGELUS IN ROME

Christian Charity is not simply Philanthropy Pope Francis

With the second question, Jesus touches them to the heart: ‘But you, who do you say that I am?’ (v.15). At this point, we seem to perceive a few moments of silence, because each of those present is called to get involved, manifesting the reason why he follows Jesus; a certain hesitation is more than legitimate. Even if I now ask you: ‘Who is Jesus for you?’ there will be some hesitation. Simon takes them away from embarrassment, when he enthusiastically declares: ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’ (v.16). This response, so full and luminous, does not come to him from his own impulse, however generous, but is the fruit of a particular grace from the heavenly Father. In fact, Jesus himself tells him: ’Neither flesh nor blood have revealed it to you – that is, the culture, what you have studied – no, my Father who is in heaven has revealed it to

you’ (v.17). Peter’s confessing Jesus is a grace of the Father. And the Church always goes on on the faith of Peter. Today, we hear Jesus’ question addressed to each of us: ‘And you, who do you say I am?’. And each of us must give an answer that is not theoretical, but which involves faith, that is, life, because faith is life! ‘For me you are ...’ , and we make confession of Jesus. An answer that also requires us, like the first disciples, to listen to the voice of the Father and to be in harmony with what the Church, gathered around Peter, keeps proclaiming. It is a question of understanding who Christ is for us: if he is the centre of our life, if he is the goal of all our commitment in the Church, of our commitment in society. Who is Jesus Christ for me? Who is Jesus Christ for you, for you, for you … ? An answer that we should give every day. But be careful: it is indispensable and commendable that the pastoral care of our communities be open to the many poverties and emergencies that are everywhere. Charity is always the main way of the journey of faith, of the perfection of faith. But it is necessary that the works of solidarity, the works of charity that we do, do not distract from contact with the Lord Jesus. Christian charity is not simple philanthropy but, on the one hand, it is looking at the other with the same eyes of Jesus and, on the other hand, it is seeing Jesus in the face of the poor. This is the true path of Christian charity, with Jesus at the centre, always. May Mary Most Holy, blessed because she believed, guide and form us on the journey of faith in Christ, and make us aware that trust in him gives full meaning to our charity and to our whole existence.

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This Sunday’s Gospel (Week 21, Mt 16:13-20) presents the moment in which Peter professes his faith in Jesus as Messiah and Son of God. This is provoked by Jesus himself, who wants to lead his disciples to take the decisive step in their relationship with him. In fact, the whole journey of Jesus with those who follow him, especially with the Twelve, is a journey of education of their faith. First of all he asks: ‘Who do people say the Son of man is?’ (v.13). The apostles liked to talk about people, as do all of us. Gossip is liked. In this case, the perspective of faith is already required and not gossip. And the disciples seem to be competing in reporting the different opinions, which perhaps to a large extent they themselves shared. They shared themselves. In essence, Jesus of Nazareth was considered a prophet (v.14).

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October 2020

Oremus

A MAKEOVER

The Hinsley Room Garden Fr Daniel Humphreys A couple of years ago a letter of complaint was received. It may surprise you to learn that this is not an unusual occurrence. This particular one concerned the garden at the Hinsley Room on Morpeth Terrace. To be fair, the complaint was justifiable, the garden was in a disgraceful state, and made the entrance distinctly shabby.

Before

Following a Newsletter appeal, a group of about a dozen volunteers was formed. Quickly, we did some basic clearance and tidying up. It made a difference, but left us unsure what could be done with the space in the long term. A detailed plan was needed, low in cost but high in quality (this is a familiar refrain in these parts). Several people put a great deal of effort into imagining how the garden could reflect its connection to the Cathedral and therefore to the Catholic Faith. We also needed it to be simple to maintain, avoiding grass, for example.

One parishioner who came forward was Julie Doyle, who has experience in designing garden mosaics. She showed me the beautiful and impressive mosaic she had worked on for the parish of St Anne, Kingston Hill and offered to design and install for the Hinsley Room Garden. In discussion we settled on the idea of the Pelican in its piety. This image is found in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, over the entrance gates and atop the tabernacle. The ‘soft, self-wounding pelican’ is a symbol of Christ the Redeemer, who feeds the faithful with his Body and Blood. Such an image in a garden in the precincts of this Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood seemed highly appropriate. Julie, ably assisted by Jack Langan, spent four weekends working on the mosaic, and the garden in general; the results are in the images. We intend adding to the garden, perhaps olive trees and other plants which are simple to maintain. Perhaps also a vine on the unattractive fencing, to cover the unsightly bins? For the mosaic, Julie and Jack used black and white stone pebbles embedded in cement. The outer circle was made from the original circle of bricks which had been in the centre of the garden. For the remainder gravel (of two sizes) has provided an attractive ‘canvas’ on which plants in various pots may happily sit.

The Pelican Mosaic.

Please do take a look at the renewed garden if you are in the vicinity. We hope it will prove to be something of a haven, and, in time, a place of prayer and quiet reflection. Thanks are certainly due to Julie and Jack, and all who have worked on the garden to this point. There is more work to do, and willing volunteers are always welcome. If any reader of Oremus would like to volunteer or donate some plants, please do contact Clergy House. After 26

Finally, any reader interested in a mosaic/garden design by Julie may like to contact her on 07745 393091. Oremus

October 2020

CROSSWORD AND POEM

A Prayer of Morning Offering John Keble (1792-1866) It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

New every morning is the love Our wakening and uprising prove, Through sleep and darkness safely brought, Restored to life and power and thought. New mercies, each returning day, Hover around us while we pray, New perils past, new sins forgiven, New thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven. If, on our daily course, our mind Be set to hallow all we find, New treasures still, of countless price, God will provide for sacrifice. Old friends, old scenes, will lovelier be, As more of heaven in each we see; Some softening gleam of love and prayer Shall dawn on every cross and care. We need not bid, for cloistered cell, Our neighbour and our words farewell, Nor strive to find ourselves too high For sinful man beneath the sky. The trivial round, the common task, Will furnish all we ought to ask, Room to deny ourselves, a road To bring us daily nearer God. Seek we no more; content with these, Let present rapture, comfort, ease, As heaven shall bid them, come and go; The secret this of rest below. Only, O Lord, in Thy dear love, Fit us for perfect rest above, And help us, this and every day, To live more nearly as we pray.

Alan Frost August 2020 – No. 81

Clues Across 1 Pagan (from Greek myth) deity of drink and revelry (7) 6 …-Rho, one of the earliest symbols of Christianity (3) 8 See 15 Across 9 Sic ------- gloria mundi, ‘Thus passes the glory of the world’ (7) 10 African country whose population is largely Roman Catholic (5) 11 One of the world’s oldest cities, near Damascus (6) 13, 24 & 23 Across: Saint founder of the Passionist Order, Feast Day 19 October (4,2,3,5) 15 & 8 Across: Chaplet of prayer given to us by St Faustina (6,5) 17 Famous recusant family and house where St Edmund Campion had his printing-press (6) 20 Former long-lived humorous national magazine, originally called The London Charivari (5) 21 Fruit of the bells of St Clement’s in the London nursery rhyme (7) 23 See 13 Across 24 See 13 Across 25 Ornate stonework in the windows of Gothic churches (7) Clues Down 1 French Saint and medieval bishop, Feast day 16 October (8) 2 Member of the clergy assisting the parish priest (6) 3 --- Urs Von Balthasar, major Swiss RC theologian of the 20th century (4) 4 Joseph -----, founder of the Latter Day Saints [Mormons] (5) 5 A boastful person, as in the alazon in early Greek theatre (8) 6 One of the clashing instruments employed to praise God in Psalm 150 (6) 7 Religious image, especially in the Orthodox churches (4) 12 Famous ancient Roman temple, a Catholic church since the 7th century (8) 14 -------- Commission, Government department responsible for large arboreal areas in England (8) 16 Italian city, birthplace of Canaletto and Titian (6) 18 Irritate with a minor criticism? (6) 19 Gustav -----, composer of a St Paul’s Suite, though dedicated to the school, not the cathedral (5) 20 William ----, youngest ever Prime Minister, buried in Westminster Abbey (4) 22 Reference to ‘Father’, as in the NT Letter to the Romans (4)

ANSWERS

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Across: 1 Bacchus 6 Chi 8 Mercy 9 Transit 10 Gabon 11 Aleppo 13 Paul Of 15 Divine 17 Stonor 20 Punch 21 Oranges 23 Cross 24 The 25 Tracery Down: 1 Bertrand 2 Curate 3 Hans 4 Smith 5 Braggart 6 Cymbal 7 Icon 12 Pantheon 14 Forestry 16 Venice 18 Niggle 19 Holst 20 Pitt 22 Abba

To submit a poem whether by yourself or another for consideration, please contact the Editor – details on page 3.

ENTERING INTO ADORATION

Sensing the Unseen National Gallery A new immersive digital experience inspired by Jan Gossaert’s 16th-century masterpiece The Adoration of the Kings will open at the National Gallery over the Christmas period. Sensing the Unseen: Step into Gossaert’s ’Adoration’ will show one of the Gallery's most popular pictures as never before and is designed to allow for digital immersion while maintaining social distancing. As visitors view the painting, the voice of one of its depicted characters, King Balthasar, will speak to them before light and sound lead them into individual ’pods’ to experience an interactive version of the painting. In the pods, visitors will encounter a large screen featuring a digital image of the painting which has been 'sonified' using ambient sound, poetic spoken word and music. Visitors will zoom into details of the painting in an aural and visual experience that places them in the world of the painting and helps them discover and navigate previously unseen elements. These include details that the artist playfully hid away as well as those that reveal the way he used individual brushstrokes and techniques such as blotted glazes to create intricate and highly wrought elements. One of the great works of the Northern Renaissance, everything about the construction, composition, content and detail of this painting is designed to focus the viewer on the tiny naked Christ Child in the middle of a desolate scene of ruins. A picture of birth, death and renewal, its exaggerated use of space and perspective gives the sense that the whole world is coming to view this scene. The series of contrasts suggests a moment of significant change in a decaying world (such as the richly dressed kings pictured with dogs at their feet scrapping around amongst weeds and broken stones.) The experience begins with the African king Balthasar’s voice speaking of this transformative moment in time. As 28

the king standing to the left of Mary and the baby Jesus, and with his attendant behind him, Balthasar is the character who best represents the journey to this point of revelation, as he waits in suspense to see the child Jesus. The importance of Balthasar is highlighted by the fact that Gossaert signed the painting in two places – on the king’s hat and on the collar of his attendant. The exhibition explores approaches to both sound and interactive design and has been developed by an interdisciplinary team of Gallery experts, artists, designers, technologists and creatives, working closely with our audiences.

Sensing the Unseen: Step into Gossaert’s ’Adoration’ is the first of a series of Room 1 exhibitions to be supported by the Capricorn Foundation, for the next three years in memory of the late Mr H J Hyams. It is curated by Dr Susan Foister, the Gallery’s Deputy Director and Curator of Early Netherlandish and German Paintings. The exhibition will run from 9 December 2020 - 28 February 2021 and will be a free to enter experience, available to visitors who have booked Gallery Entry tickets as well as Titian and Artemisia exhibition tickets. Simply make your way to Gallery Room 1 to enjoy Sensing the Unseen: Step into Gossaert’s ’Adoration’ Oremus

October 2020

FIFTY AND ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO

In retrospect: from the Cathedral Chronicle Mr Samuel Arthur Seare It is with great regret that we have to record the accidental death of Mr Samuel Arthur Seare, aged 72 years. Throughout every Tuesday night for the last 15 years, Mr Seare had tuned the Cathedral organ, and it was whilst he was engaged on this duty he had come to love that he sustained a fatal fall on the night of Tuesday/Wednesday, 18/19th August. With his passing we have lost a rare talent which will be sorely missed. R.I.P. A Diplomatic Visit The First Lady of the Philippines, Madame Ferdinand Marcos, wife of His Excellency the President, attended the Capitular High Mass in the Cathedral on Sunday, 13th September. She was accompanied by her son, Ferdinand, who is to begin school at Worth Abbey, and members of the Philippines Diplomatic Corps. It was a happy coincidence that this visit was also the occasion of the return of the boys of the Cathedral Choir School for the new scholastic year, and Her Excellency was able to enjoy, with us all, the restoration of the full Cathedral Liturgy in all its beauty. The Church in Zambia To an outsider the Church in Zambia is thriving. The country has just over four million people, of whom one-third are Catholic, one-third Protestant and the remainder still adhere to the traditional religion. In fact, the number of Catholics is increasing so fast that within the next decade the ratio of people-to-priest will greatly increase, thanks to the number of new converts and the natural increase in population. This, however, is only one side of the coin and gives little indication either of the difficulties that the Church faces in Zambia or of the aspirations of this young nation. It is a terrible indictment, but it must be said, that after half a century of intensive evangelisation, the Church in Zambia is still wondering whether she will be accepted or rejected. The large number of mission schools and hospitals are ample evidence of the heroic zeal of so many missionaries, both men and women. Eight dioceses have already been set up, each complete with its network of parishes and outstations. Yet despite all this, the Church is still a long way from being a Zambian Church. Only one-quarter of its bishops are Zambian, while of its 350 priests only oneseventh are African. Time is running out. Before the last World War, the missionaries looked forward to several generations of solid work before the Church would be sufficiently strong to stand on its own two feet. However, times have changed. October 2020

Oremus

Within the last decade the country has become politically independent and at present it is making enormous efforts to achieve cultural and economic freedom â&#x20AC;Ś In face of this rising national feeling, the Church is still considered foreign. If she is not capable in the future of identifying herself with the aspirations of the people, she will be condemned as alien and as such she will be rejected â&#x20AC;Ś We have only to think of the Churches at Corinth or Ephesus set up by St Paul and which, within a few years, not only were able to manage their own affairs, but undertook missionary activity elsewhere. Again, St Patrick saw the Celtic Church grow and mature into full adulthood in the Church of Christ, within his own lifetime. We in Zambia, after 50 years of strenuous work, have reached the point where a local Church is still only a possibility and where the time left to establish one is rapidly running out. Only if the Church is capable of guiding the rising generation in their search for a new Christian way of life, will she give rise to a truly Zambian Church. The author of this piece, Fr Edward Murphy SJ, spent his summer as a Supply Priest at the Cathedral before returning to his missionary post in Zambia from the October 1970 Westminster Cathedral News Sheet ..... Applauding the Preacher The ancient sermon differed from the modern in one somewhat startling feature. The hearers were permitted and encouraged to applaud and even to ask questions and explanations of the preacher. St Chrysostom had to complain that the applause and interruptions while he was preaching were too frequent and often broke the thread of his discourse. It must, we may be sure, have also happened that dull preachers were listened to in significant silence or even with positive signs of dissatisfaction. Our present church discipline is preferable. Fake News Reporters of the daily Press seem to be quite beyond learning how to speak correctly of the most rudimental matters of Catholic practices. The Daily News recently informed its readers that, on the occasion of a recent outrage in Mexico, while the mortal remains of some girls who met with violent death were being laid to rest, the entire population said masses ! When are we going to have a Catholic Press Agency ? from the October 1920 Westminster Cathedral Chronicle 29

HUMAN RIGHTS

Fundamental versus Other Rights The Catholic Union is calling on the Government to avoid ‘diluting the concept of human rights’ as part of a consultation on the UK’s international policy. In a submission to the Government’s Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, it calls for a focus on upholding fundamental human rights both for the international system and for domestic politics. Britain was one of the key architects of the international human rights system. It remains a crucially important anchor for those who advocate respect for human rights and the rule of law. The reputation of the British legal system and its values is extraordinarily widespread and deeply felt. The human rights enumerated in the various international treaties are the subject of binding obligations in international law. In the case of some of the treaties, they are interpreted by supra-national courts, whose judgments bind the States that have agreed to their jurisdiction. These legal obligations were agreed in order to express values of a particular character. These values are described using words such as ‘fundamental’ or ‘inalienable’; they seek to entrench, in binding international law, protection for things which are essential to our humanity. These rights are different from the plethora of what might be called ‘positive law’ rights which are the result of domestic political compromises and are found in domestic legislation. International human rights law therefore has two important characteristics. First, its content is confined to rights that are universally accepted as inherent in being human. Secondly, it can only be changed by the proper processes for changing international law – in this context, an amending treaty. Over the last few decades this system has been undermined. Influential activists and lobby groups have sought to argue that their policy interests, which could legitimately be 30

the source of domestic positive rights in a democracy, should be recognised as being fundamental human rights. They have sought to use the machinery of the United Nations, such as the system of committees that have been set up to monitor human rights treaties, to advance these policy agendas and a number of these committees have been heavily influenced by this approach. Through these committees making ‘concluding observations’ on State reports or through a committee’s ‘general comments’, this has then fed back to domestic policy makers who have been persuaded, erroneously, that what a committee says in this context constitutes international law. This has eroded respect for international human rights law in democratic electorates and by authoritarian regimes. In democratic electorates (whose consent to the system is essential to its continued existence) most people can distinguish between fundamental rights and government or legislative policy. This misuse of the system is eroding trust in it and providing fertile ground for attacks on ‘human rights’ by the media and populist politicians. Authoritarian regimes have sensed that respect for international human rights law is currently low in key democracies and are increasingly testing the boundaries of tolerance for their actions by breaching the fundamental rights of their citizens. These concerns have existed for many years but the United States Department of State has recently published the draft report of the ‘Commission on Unalienable Rights’ which makes some of these points at greater length. It is available at https:// www.state.gov/draft-report-of-thecommission-on-unalienable-rights/. It states: ‘The temptation to cloak a contestable political preference in the mantle of human rights, which are held to be objectively and universally true, and seek a final and binding judgment from a court, tends to choke off democratic debate, which is itself

critical to self-government and therefore to the protection of unalienable rights’ (p 25). ‘There is good reason to worry that the prodigious expansion of human rights law has weakened rather than strengthened the claim of human rights and left the most disadvantaged more vulnerable. More rights do not always yield more justice. Transforming every worthy political preference into a claim of human rights inevitably dilutes the authority of human rights’ (p 39). The Holy See has also made a number of interventions opposing these trends. For example, in September 2020, the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations called for strict interpretation of human rights treaties as codified in the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and pointed out that treaty bodies are not judicial organs, nor their members judges, nor their procedures judicial proceedings. He said that it is not within the treaty bodies’ mandate to provide interpretations of constitutive instruments or introduce concepts not found in the treaties themselves. The Catholic Union urges the government to take the opportunity of this Integrated Review and the creation of the new Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to use its international reputation to address this issue through its membership of international organisations. It also urges the government to guard against these trends in domestic law-making. Oremus

October 2020

ST VINCENT DE PAUL PRIMARY SCHOOL

The Return to School – My Views Julia, Year 6 After the long break in isolation I had started to run out of ideas of what to do in the summer days at home. I started to miss the friends I only knew and saw at school. I could not wait to get back to school, even though I knew that only months before I had been itching to leave school and start the holiday: well, not for a while as I still had to do work every day at home to make up for the work that I would be doing at school if not for that irritating Covid-19 taking charge of our lives. Now that I am back at school I can compare what it used to be like before the virus. All the classes are coming to school at different times to make sure that our ‘class bubbles’ – as we call them – don’t mix. The times of our breaks have also changed, so that there are only two classes in the playground. Each class has half of it, so we do not have as much space as before to roam around. But we make do with what we get. I sincerely hope that by next summer we will be able to go on school trips and Year 6 (my class) will be able to go on the traditional week-long class trip to Sayers Croft, which we missed because of the pandemic. I am sure all my classmates cannot wait to pack their luggage and to set off on this adventure.

Another novelty is our new material for Religious Education. Every week, we used to receive a colourful newsletter with the next Sunday’s Bible reading – ‘The Wednesday Word’. It was published especially for children and contained activities for us to complete. But now the school has discovered a new resource called ‘Ten Ten’, which provides daily prayers and Catholic themes for learning in school and at home. We have easy access to this resource through our school website. Due to Covid-19 we cannot use the Cathedral facilities as we normally would. As a school we are hoping to celebrate the Feast Day of our patron – St Vincent de Paul – in a special way. All children from KS2 are keeping their fingers crossed to gain entrance to the Cathedral next door (Westminster Cathedral – you know, the one that you got this very magazine from) for at least a little while. Meanwhile KS1 may do some activities focused on St Vincent and his life. Although our school routine has changed a lot, we try not to lose hope but stay cheerful, even in these hard times.

Something funny has come out of this new routine too. The teachers have found that antibacterial gel is the best thing for rubbing out our class white board – what a coincidence! We need to clean it after a student writes on it or there is no space left, so this was a very helpful discovery. October 2020

Oremus

IN MEMORIAM

Caroline Webb R.I.P. Michael Drury, Cathedral Architect certainly Caroline who recommended Thomas Greenaway to cut her lettering, from red and green porphyry, into its Carara marble setting. A visit to his workshop during the long and painstaking process revealed the method he learned from one of the last Italian masters of the art. The slab was first indented to take the letter shapes, each section of which was cut and then carefully finished by hand in the hardest

Caroline discussing a lettering proposal with John Maddison

Caroline Webb died on 18 August. A renowned lettering designer, for many years she advised on questions relating to such matters at Westminster Cathedral. In this role Caroline proved invaluable in maintaining the highest design standards. Such projects included decorative chapel schemes and the commemorative dedications that record benefactions. In the past we have been fortunate to have avoided peppering the walls with the little brass plaques that clutter the walls of so many great church buildings and as cathedral architect, keen to ensure that this remains the case, I have implemented a policy whereby commemorative texts should only be recorded in the pavements. Here Caroline’s skills have been evident. Some she designed herself, others in conjunction with other artists and letter cutters but whatever the situation, her consummate ability shone through, offering her advice and opinions with careful consideration for the interests of all concerned. She was always a pleasure to work with and her thoughts and deliberations on the niceties of lettering design were fascinating and informative. Of these pavement inscriptions, her finest is that relating to the 2010 papal visit. The occasion warranted a suitably fitting memorial and when I suggested a prominent location within the threshold of the west porch, Caroline was the obvious person to design it. The footfall of thousands of future visitors demanded durable materials and I think it was her who suggested pietra dura, a way of working in which hard stone is precisely cut and set into decorative surfaces. It was

Caroline with her finished memorial to the 2010 papal visit

materials imaginable, to the closest fit. The font Caroline designed especially was both scholarly and beautiful and its combination with her lay-out and Thomas’s patient skill produced an enduring result that has welcomed all those who have entered through the cathedral’s great west doors since their work was completed in 2013. Its lasting qualities, both in design and execution should ensure that it does so for centuries to come. As such I hope it will serve as a memorial not only to a significant moment in the cathedral’s recent history but to Caroline too. Do give it a careful look next time you have a moment to spare when entering the cathedral this way. It is time well spent for any who are interested in the finer points of lettering design.

The finished memorial to the 2010 papal visit, designed by Caroline Webb and executed in pietra dura by Thomas Greenaway

Oremus October 2020

Articles inside

St Vincent de Paul Catholic Primary School

In Retrospect

Human Rights: A Warning by the Catholic Union

Crossword and Poem of the Month

Entering into Adoration at the National Gallery

A Midday Angelus Address by Pope Francis

News from the Missions by Fr Ed O’Connell

Friends of the Cathedral

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From the Acting Administrator

Hidden Life in Leicestershire: Film Notice