www.catholictruthscotland.com Contents Birmingham Priest: forget bishop “You have received a divine imprint - I’m in charge! p.2 Editor which marks your whole being, and by it, Glasgow: St Andrew’s Cathedral- cum-Concert Hall p.3 you have been consecrated to God, body Editor and soul, like a vessel of the altar which Glasgow: Priest On Pressure Not to Offer Traditional Mass p. 4 it would be a sacrilege to profane ... Editor Ireland: Association of (Alleged) Catholic Priests p. 5 Editor Ireland: Family forced to hold Mass on pier / Bishop’s Tactic Backfires p.6 Kathleen James Edinburgh Priest Protests New Mass Translation p.7 (This imprint) cannot be effaced: it will Father Glen Replies... Letters p.8 / Letters Extra p.19 remain with you forever, as a cause of Ireland: an Irish Layman immense glory in heaven or unspeakable on The Curious Case of The Curate’s Diary p.9 shame in Hell.” Joe O’Connell Abbot Marmion OSB Education p.10 Christ - The Ideal of the Priest, p.49 Feature Letter p.12 Father Thaddeus Doyle New Look Parish Missions - No Thanks p.15 St Catherine We’ve had Peter Mackin of Siena enough of exhortations The Divine Mercy Devotion p.16 to be silent! “Father Trócaire” Cry out with a Canonization Process - Some hundred Concerns p.17 thousand SSPX Superior, USA District. tongues! I see that the Fatima: report on Consecration world is Now! Conference p.18 1347-1380 rotten Editor Feast: because of 30 April Short reports on Glasgow silence. & Edinburgh / Editorial p.20 We’re hearing reports of a major conference being organised by Catholic Truth readers in County Cork in the Republic of Ireland. What’s happening to the Catholic Church in Ireland? Saturday 24th September, 2011 Feast of Our Lady Of Ransom Keynote Speaker The Reverend Father Paul L. Kramer B.Ph, S.T.B, M.Div, S.T.L. (Cand.) The Mystery of Iniquity Revealed in the Secret of Fatima (Supporting speakers to be announced - see our website & August newsletter) The Westlodge Hotel Seafield, Bantry, Co. Cork, Ireland For hotel bookings only Tel: 353 27 50360; Fax; 353 27 50438 * email '[email protected]' discount for all overnight guests attending the conference Entrance: small charge payable at door Limited seats reserved on a first come, first served basis. * To reserve seats, ring Mary: (00)353 86 0638551 More details in the August newsletter Birmingham Priest: forget bishop - I’m in charge! By the editor... Mrs Margaret Parffrey who lives in many committees a bishop sets up, no logical mistakes more than once - usu- the Archdiocese of Birmingham, has matter how many fancy titles he gives ally regarding things, even doctrines, written, without success, to the Dioc- to individuals like Fr Veasey, the buck I’ve been taught but forgotten, so esan Department of Religious Educa- always stops with him - the bishop. He that’s not an issue. We’re living in tion to express concerns about “the is always responsible for what goes on confusing times - my bedtime reading sex teachings in our Catholic in Catholic schools because it is he is now the Catechism of the Council of schools.” In due course, she decided who is going to be ultimately account- Trent. But what is inexcusable, is the to write to the Archbishop. able before God, for the souls lost hostile response to the truth once that through these diabolical sex education truth is made known to those in error. Fr Jonathan Veasey, Director of Reli- programmes and deficient (to say the As this edition shows beyond ques- gious Education in the Archdiocese, least) religious education pro- tion, instead of being grateful to have replied to rebuke Mrs Parffrey for grammes. a serious problem/error highlighted, having the temerity to write to Arch- and setting about putting it right, over In my email (31/3/11) I drew Fr bishop Longley: “The Catholic Educa- and over again priests and bishops Veasey’s attention to the fact that no- tion Service for England and Wales is ignore the correspondent or reply where in Canon Law is any priest or an agency of the Bishops’ Confer- rudely. any other office holder raised to a ence of England and Wales. Arch- In this case, our reader simply asked position of authority above that of the bishop Bernard Longley has no direct for an end to the moral corruption of bishop in his diocese. No reply. responsibilities for this department. children in Catholic schools. Instead Any matters concerning this agency Now, I had no trouble at all decipher- of abandoning his duty by forwarding should be made directly to them ... If ing Mrs Parffrey’s handwriting - I wish Mrs Parffrey’s letter to Fr Veasey, you have any comments to make or mine was half as good - so the fact Archbishop Longley should have had concerns to raise about RE and Rela- that Fr Veasey’s typewritten letter to Fr Veasey into his office to do some tionship Education or Catholic life of her was addressed to “Mrs M J Pouff- explaining. The fact that he failed to do the Catholic Schools in the Archdio- ney” puzzles me, she said in an aside. so, and is continuing to permit the cese of Birmingham, they should be Whatever, the fact is that he got more sexualising of children within his care, made to me as the Director of the than our reader’s name wrong - he’s is a very grave scandal indeed. Department of Religious Education.” (Letter dated 3/3/11) shown a worrying ignorance of the He that shall scandalize one of these little rules that govern the most basic hier- ones that believe in me, it were better for Wrong. And I emailed Fr Jonathan archical structure of the Church. Lis- him that a millstone should be hanged Veasey to tell him so. With all due ten. I’m no expert on anything; I’ve about his neck and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea. respect, of course. No matter how found myself making elementary theo- (Matthew 18: 6) 2 Glasgow: St Andrew’s Cathedral-Cum-Concert Hall Under a report headlined ‘Sacred space of marvelous (sic) beauty’ an unnamed author writing in Flourish, official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Glasgow, waxed more than lyrical about the recently refurbished Cathedral of St Andrew. “Over the top” just doesn’t cut it. The altar rails are long gone, of course, and the cathedral was not exactly a traditionalist's dream before this latest “upgrading” but at least it boasted a statue of the Sacred Heart, and a ‘Lady altar’ - not any more. The statue of Our Lady is situated over two white doors (see left) which I’m told will eventually depict two angels (that’s something I suppose) from whence the clergy process. Still, it’s sad that there is nowhere to place flowers in honour of the Queen of Heaven. And can you see any- where to kneel to pray in front of the statue? The statue of the Sacred Heart has been relocated from above the tabernacle (side altar - see below, left) to the shop at the back, high up on a side wall, almost touching the ceiling. As I craned to take the photograph (see right) a lady parishioner said: “Why did they put it away up there?” Good question. “Too Catholic” was my immedi- ate reply. You don’t want to offend Protestants and risk all the concert and theatre goers set to throng this building being put off by Catholic stuff like statues and crucifixes, do you. The only crucifix I could find is included in the stained glass window. The altar rails were removed from the cathedral years ago. It’s amazing to think that Protestant (Episcopalian/Anglican) cathedrals and churches look The tabernacle is positioned under- more like traditional Catholic sanctuaries than the above space - which is all neath the much publicised painting of that it is - empty space. There is nothing to inspire prayers and devotion. St John Ogilvie (see above) which, try Importantly, there are fewer pews, it seems, and a new system of adding as I have done, I just cannot praise. stacking chairs to the end of rows of pews has been instituted, for the purpos- We’d been subjected to truckloads of es, one of the pass-keepers told me, of allowing for extra seating during positive publicity about the ‘next Scots concerts. One of the concerts, held on 15th May, was a performance entitled Michelangelo’ - Peter Howson - and I “A Diminished Mass” composed by a Presbyterian musician, Alan Craig, and did my very best to forget his history billed as a “World Premiere” - tickets available from Cadder Church South Hall, of painting what I’d wager is one of the Bishopbriggs. A reader sent us the advertisement posted in this Presbyterian ugliest depictions of St Andrew on church, so I emailed Mr Craig with some questions - see p.11 column 2. record, not to mention his nude paint- ing of the pop-star Madonna, but I just cannot see what all the fuss is about. John Ogilvie’s haunting, protruding eyes do not, in my view, inspire prayerful contemplation of the life and death of our one and only martyr. If Howson is the new Scots Michelange- lo, I must be the new Cecilia Bartoli. The new Italian Garden is accessible German U-boat. Plaques listing Italian Susan Boyle, news bulletins report, via a gated entrance from Clyde names are in place along the wall continues to enjoy deep and carefree Street.