Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As I write, it is two days since this year's March for Life took to the streets of Westminster; as always, it was good to be there and great to meet up with many of you.

The March is always a joyful occasion and is very encouraging, not least because of the number of young people taking part. This confuses many bystanders and secular media – how can it have such a joyful feel? Is it not a gathering of miserable people who are against something? People of bitterness, prejudice, no regard for women?

The key problem here is that the March in general, and Catholics in particular, are being viewed in terms of being “against”; that can only lead to a misunderstanding. In reality, the Church needs, first and foremost, to articulate – and thus be understood in the light of – that of which she is “in favour”. The Church is Pro Life – life which is a gift from God. Human beings are made by God in His divine image; they are restored to grace by God taking our humanity at His Incarnation. Life is sacred, from conception to natural death, and we cannot accept anything which devalues life or seeks to end it. Of course, this means that abortion has no place – the womb of the mother is created to be a place of life, not of execution. Even the unborn, the most weak and vulnerable, is a life which is sacred and must be defended.

But the Right also brings Duties: it is not enough simply to oppose Abortion; we are also required to provide support for the mother and the unborn Child. That involves loving and unjudgmental support for those who feel pressured to consider having an abortion. It may be housing or poverty which are issues, pressure from men or family, where a woman feels she has no choice; it is no good preaching the sanctity of life if we are not also providing the necessary material support, both during pregnancy and in the years ahead. It is one of the beauties of so much Catholic Pro Life work that it does seek to provide for these material and emotional needs. That is natural if we are Pro Life, not just anti-abortion.

This same Pro Life understanding is essential to our approach to Euthanasia and so-called Assisted Dying. To be clear, Assisted Dying refers to “assisted suicide”, not the traditional practice of pastoral and sacramental care and pain relief which assists the dying on their final journey. Again, we are not “anti-choice”; we are Pro Life. The same logic and teaching apply – life is sacred and we cannot determine a moment when it ceases to be and can be terminated. But again, we cannot be Pro Life if we do not consider and respond to the duties which the Right to Life imposes. We must work for better care for the sick and dying: palliative care, placing the sacredness of the individual at its centre, and being willing to pay more as a society in order to ensure that end-of-life care is the best it can be.

In all of the above, we must be people of love, not hatred; acting with immense compassion for those who are trapped in an awful situation in which they have little hope and believe they have no options. Why? Because in the Incarnation, God not only affirms the sanctity of human life but also enters into its mess and complications.

Catholics need to do what they do best – be joyful because of what the Lord has done! We need to articulate through words and actions that Life Matters – it is sacred – and that we oppose certain things not because we are negative, but because we are positive: PRO Life – honouring that non-negotiable dignity that comes from God.

Please hold all of this in your prayers: pray for an end to Abortion and a rejection of “assisted dying”; for those who vote on these issues; and for those faced with the dilemma of working in health care where these events will occur. Pray most of all for women and for the dying, that they are able to choose to value life. Pray for those who have had abortions and are tormented, that they may come to know, through the Church, God's love and forgiveness.

Finally, can I remind you of our festival in Eastbourne next month, 13-15th October. Full details are on the website. It is not too late to book. The Festival is always a great few days of prayer and fellowship together and strengthens our common bonds across our Ordinariate communities.

In Christ

+David

Photograph credit © Mazur/cbcew.org.uk

Dear Friends,

Last month, I wrote about the WeBelieve Festival and explained why it was important for the Ordinariate to play a part in it. Now the Festival has happened, I want to say how good it was to have such a strong and diverse Ordinariate presence. WeBelieve provided a wonderful opportunity for Ordinariate members to meet one another and also to mix with other Catholics and to make the Ordinariate more widely known.

During the Festival, attendees participated in beautiful worship; rich teaching; and presentations and discussions on the proclamation of the gospel. At the heart of it all was the truth of our faith, that, through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God has saved us and given us the promise of eternal life. That is the Good News that the Church exists to proclaim.

The launch of Joanna Bogle’s book on the beginnings of the Ordinariate, drew a good number of people and provided an opportunity not only to promote the book but also to say more about the Ordinariate as it has developed and to distribute copies of the recent document from the Holy See on our Anglican Heritage.

On the Sunday morning, I was privileged to be the principal celebrant at the main Mass, with thousands of worshippers in a big-top tent. On Sunday evening, we celebrated Evensong and Benediction in the seminary chapel; over 150 people were present and they came from across the wide range of groups and backgrounds at the festival. Using a rite that was clearly of Anglican Patrimony and hymns of the Anglican tradition, in a context that was clearly Catholic worship, the Ordinariate gathered those of diverse traditions to pray together as one Church.

I look forward to WeBelieve 2027 and I hope our presence will be even greater. Meanwhile, the joys of our faith, as experienced at WeBelieve, remain the joys of our faith in the communities in which we live. Big events set before us more clearly that to which we must bear witness locally. I pray that each of our Ordinariate communities will be more and more places where the Faith is taught; joy is glimpsed; and the Good News is proclaimed.

Finally, may I draw your attention to this year’s March for Life on Saturday 5th September. In the morning there will be a Mass at 10.30 in Westminster Cathedral. The March begins at 1.30. Experience shows that it is difficult for groups to keep together throughout the duration of the March, however, it is good if Ordinariate members and friends can gather and at least enter the march as a group. Therefore, I would request that those who wish to begin the March together, meet with me outside St Matthew’s Church in Great Peter Street at 1.10. I look forward to seeing many of you on the March.

In Christ

+ Bishop David