Cheltenham loses its Traditional Latin Mass

Sadly, Fr Redman of Dursley can no longer offer the monthly Traditional Latin Mass at St Gregory's church in Cheltenham. At present there is no information as to whether another priest could offer the Mass in his place, so we have to assume that this situation will continue for the foreseeable future.

Many thanks to Fr Redman for looking after our little congregation.

"When Paul Corrected Peter"

Next to the daily news report on gloria.tv there is a constantly updated list of news stories and articles, some of which are worthy of much wider dissemination.

Here is one which caught my eye: The American Spectator has published an article by George Neumayr, entitled When Paul Corrected Peter.

I have been hoping for some time that one or more of the Vatican-based Cardinals will speak to Pope Francis as candid friends. Who knows, perhaps they have done so already.

He needs many prayers, offered up in a spirit of love.

Fog and Uncertainty

I'm reluctant to add my two-penn'orth to the swirl of reactions to Pope Francis's recent interview. On both sides, excellent Catholics, both clerical and lay, have made their contributions to the debate.

I have the impression that the work of stressing the positive elements has been rather laboured, relying very much on hope and on interpreting things in the best light. On the other hand, the work of pointing out the negatives, and of drawing worrying conclusions from them, has appeared more analytical and logical.

As for me, I hope the Pope never attempts to put these expressions of his thought into an official, magisterial pronouncement.

Young Catholic Adults: 18-20 October, 2013

During the weekend of the 18-20 October 2013, Young Catholic Adults will be running a national weekend at Cold Ash Retreat Centre just up the road from Douai Abbey (which was booked up this year).

* It will be include the following speakers:- Fr Goddard FSSP, Fr de Malleray, Fr. Pearson O.P. and Br. Gabriel O.S.B..

* There will be a Marian Procession, Rosaries, Sung/HighMass, Low Mass, Confession and socials.

* Gregorian Chant Workshops will also be running, this year led by the Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge

Weekend rates: £99.00 for adults, £69.00 for Students and U/E ( weekends starts on Friday evening with supper and finish on Sunday after lunch.

Saturday night only - £60.00 for adults, £50.00 for Students and U/E Full Board

B & B - £35.00 for adults, £30.00 (for student - U/E) per day

Non - residential and full board - (Friday & Saturday) - £45.00 for adults, £40.00 for (for student - U/E) per day

Non residential (includes meals) - £30.00 for adults, £25.00 (for student - U/E) per day

Non residential & no meals - £20.00 for adults, £15.00 (for student - U/E) per day.

To download a booking form please see :- http://www.youngcatholicadults.co.uk/events.htm

For general enquiries about the weekend please ring Margaret on 07515 805015 or Damian on 07908105787.

How to get to Cold Ash Retreat Centre (near Thatcham, Berkshire)

Car - Roughly halfway between Reading and Newbury, Cold Ash Retreat Centre is within easy reach of these towns as well as London, Oxford, Bracknell, Winchester and Basingstoke. The A4 (Bath Road is a couple of miles and the M4 is just 4 miles away.

Trains - The nearest railway stations are Thatcham and Newbury, with a regular service on the line from Reading to Taunton. It's just c. 45 minutes from London Paddington. The local railway station, Thatcham, is a couple of miles away (and has plenty of taxis available). Timetables and other information are provided by http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/.

Buses - Weavaway operates a bus service from Newbury Town Centre via Thatcham Broadway to Tilehurst, which stops at Cold Ash along the way.

Does Pope Francis have an Identical Twin?

I hope you like the tabloid headline. More about that at the end. First of all, thank you, Pastor Emeritus, for your kind message following my most recent post.

A mixture of technical problems and a draining away of inspiration has prevented me from posting for some time. I’ve found a way round the problems. But as to the lack of inspiration, I think it was due mainly to a reluctance to say what I have been feeling about the new papal regime under which we are living. I’m glad that others have felt able to articulate their views.

Pope Francis says some beautiful, inspiring things, but he also says really awful things which it is pretty clear are emboldening those who reject major elements of the Church’s teaching. This is horrible.

And as for the Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Immaculate, and the appointment of the man alleged to have been the chief dissident to the post of Secretary General of the order …. well! In a way, the thing that I found almost more chilling than his appointment, was the statement that for the period of the commissariamento this man would be the sole spokesman of the order. That is grim.

Thank God for the academics who have set out, with such precision, their case against the decision of Pope Francis to forbid these Franciscans to exercise (without permission) their right of offering the Holy Mass in the ancient form. Sandro Magister has the details here.

I think it was the FFI bombshell that “emancipated” me. I know what I think and feel about all this. But I have been searching for a word to describe it that is as little emotionally charged as possible. We need cool heads. I will make do – and, I stress, make do - with the word “exasperated”. The acknowledgment to myself of even this somewhat underpowered expression of my feelings has, rather oddly, liberated me from a sense of oppression. Some people refer to the pope as Francis the Confusing. He has moved on, for me, to Francis the Exasperating. If he continues like this, a stronger adjective may be in order, even from me.

The title of my post comes from those silly, spooky films where Good Twin has an identical Bad Twin, locked away in secret in the attic, but escaping at frequent intervals to cause confusion and mayhem. At last, when all is revealed, everyone starts to wonder: Which Twin was responsible for what? And more to the point, which one is this Twin?

Oh, I think I need to get out more!