Prester fra flere bispedømmer i England stiftet 19. oktober et «Confraternity of Catholic Clergy» – inspirert av pave benedikts besøk i England i fjor. Målet for foreningen er «the sanctification and support of Priests, and in promotion of Priestly life, holiness and mission.»
Fr. Tim Finigan skrev nylig om et nytt møte i foreningen, der bl.a. P. Aiden Nichols holdt et foredrag der han bl.a. snakket om følgende:
… A major theme Fr Nichols urged upon us was the importance of evangelisation for the life of the Church. He suggested that the decline of Catholic life in England according to every measurable criterion, was directly attributable to loss of the imperative for the conversion of England. He compared the failure to be missionary to that obex or obstacle which may be placed by the recipient of a sacrament, preventing its fruitfulness. Just as the removal of the obstacle will enable the reviviscence of grace, so the removal of the obstacle of the lack of missionary activity will enable the revival of the Church – for those within the Church as well as by the reception of those to whom this missionary activity is directed. In other words, people who evangelise will find that their own faith is strengthened by the very fact of doing so.
The theme of the Liturgy was not neglected. Fr Nichols cited the example of St Augustine who was moved by the sacred chant of the Cathedral at Milan. People need the sacrality of the Liturgy to move them to an active faith which recognises the necessity of evangelisation. There was much else of value that I would like to re-read when the address is published. I have not by any means done the paper justice in this brief write-up of some of my notes. …
«He suggested that the decline of Catholic life in England according to every measurable criterion, was directly attributable to loss of the imperative for the conversion of England»
Mon tro om den Vatikankosilet har hatt noe med dette å gjøre? Innen dette konverterte over 100 000 engelskmenn i året. Umiddelbart etter den Nye Pinse ble fossen til et par vanndråper. [Trond referer her til Index of leading Catholic Indicators, Kenneth C. Jones, 2006, som jeg selv ikke har kjennskap til. RED.]
Idag sier «katolske» ungdommer på tv, i anledning pavebesøket, at det fine med å være katolsk er at en kan tro det en vil. Confraternity of Catholic Clergy har litt av en jobb foran seg og de behøver all den støtte de kan få. Et glimrende initiativ!