Whats inside Guys &, Dolls at All Saints College Page 11 Minister of State joins in Page 20 CATHOLIC POST THE NEWSPAPER FOR THE DIOCESE OF LEEDS MARCH 2010 www.dioceseofleeds.org.uk www.catholicpost.org.uk Skating For Jesus T o many young people the dream of being an Olympian is a part of life they pass quickly through. Many try sports of different kinds, but find that only a few make it to the top. Here in the Diocese of Leeds we have with us a nun who has lived that dream and should have been in Vancouver, collecting medals –, instead Sr Catherine is working in the Hunslet area of Leeds. 12years ago at the Winter Olympics in Nagano, a 17-year-old speedskating prodigy named Kirstin Holum was tipped for future greatness. She was placed sixth in the 3,000 meters and seventh in the 5,000 meters –, all the world was before her. But that was not to be, in her own words: ‘,Throughout most of my life, I was searching for the one true love. The love to fill a void in my heart that the ",world", created in me. Not knowing or realizing or even contemplating the fact that Jesus was the answer, I strayed far from Him in many ways during college. I had blocked out a calling I had in Fatima at the age of sixteen. ",You’,re going to be a sister:", I heard in prayer before the holy Eucharist. Jesus, through Mary, wanted to prepare my heart, to give him room right then, but over time I stopped listening to him. And start listening to the culture. A culture, which we all know, is full of lies, deceit, and false ideas of love. After college I moved home, imagining myself in a career as an artist or photographer, still not finding peace. Then the prayers of my patient mother were finally heard. By the grace of God, I ended up on a pro-life walk across America, called ",crossroads",. After three months of daily mass, countless rosaries, a good confession, and learning more about our rich Catholic faith, we arrived in Toronto for World Youth Day. My heart was ready. Jesus broke through the ",noise”, of the culture and healed my heart. When I met the CFR’,s, I saw in them such immense joy that I knew could only come from their love for Jesus. ",I want to love Jesus radically like they do",, I thought to myself. When I first visited the sisters later that year, I did not see visions or hear voices from heaven, telling me that this was it, but I found peace, true peace, which was Jesus`, gentle voice inviting me deeper into His merciful heart, closer to Him, the one true love.’, Sr Catherine works with the young people in the Diocese and should take her final vows in June this year. CATHOLIC CARE (Diocese of Leeds) - Taking the Caring Church into the community Sr Catherine Kirstin Holum

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Page 2 SCHOOLS NEWS D uring the week beginning 22nd February all classes at St. John the Baptist Catholic Primary School, Normanton took part in Arts Week. Miss Lynsey Whitehouse (Subject Leader for Art in school) co-ordinated the week and organised a timetable for the children to experience working in the style of different artists and with a wide range of materials, to produce a wide range of artwork. Throughout the week, each morning the children took part in an assembly, to introduce them to a different artist. The artists that the children learnt about were: Henri Matisse, Wassily Kandinsky, Andy Goldsworthy, Vincent Van Gogh and Andy Warhol. The children took part in a wide range of activities including glass painting, painting on canvas, collage, working with textiles, printing, sculpture, photography, observational drawing, model making, use of ICT, working with natural materials and much more. On Friday 26th February from 2.30pm to 4.00pm, the school held an exhibition of the artwork produced during the week, to which parents were invited. Children’,s work was displayed in the school hall. The Parents Association very kindly served refreshments during the exhibition. ‘,The week was a very busy week.’, Said Mrs Lesley Darren Headteacher. ‘,Many parents gave up their time to come into school during the week and provide support throughout the week. The children in Foundation Stage were also visited by a local artist, who talked to them about his work and what inspires him to paint. The week was a great success and allowed the children to learn about a variety of famous artists and experience working in the style of the artists. As a school we are currently working to develop our curriculum. We firmly believe that enriching the curriculum by holding such weeks as the Arts Week will provide our children not only with a very pleasurable experience but also help them to realise any hidden talents they may have. We hope to be able to hold further enrichment weeks in the forthcoming academic year.’, ART WEEK SPECIAL W hat does it mean to be part of a Catholic sixth form college? Four students from Notre Dame volunteered to talk about their faith and their experiences. Alex Noad, [Corpus Christi] Laura Brown,[St Patrick’,s] Radhika Ramdihal [Holy Rosary] and Thierry Ngutegure [St Winifred’,s] all came to Notre Dame from Catholic high schools in Leeds, and all felt it was important to them to continue their education within a Catholic environment. Alex, currently in the U6, is hoping that when he leaves Notre Dame he will be able to start his training for the priesthood at a seminary in Spain. He has been attending discernment meetings since he was 13 and has been to Ushaw College in Durham for a discernment weekend. I asked Alex how he felt Notre Dame had supported his faith in the time he has spent there. He told me that knowing that everyone here is part of a Catholic college means you can’,t hide away from your faith and because people have chosen to be here, this makes him feel connected to Catholicism and his upbringing. There are always people to talk to about spiritual matters and being part of the college has made him want to build on his faith. Laura agrees. She likes the inclusivity of Notre Dame and feels it allows her to speak openly about her faith especially within the college’,s general RE programme. Radhika also thinks these lessons are important. ‘,Everyone is very open about their faith which makes you think carefully about your own opinions and helps you realise how strong your beliefs actually are. Having a strong faith gives you standards to stick to and I also find it helps if I get stressed over my work.’, Thierry had an extra incentive to come to the college –, his father used to teach French there, but he also likes the moral standards that are part of a Catholic education. He feels that the inclusivity of the college allows others to integrate within the college community. ‘,In order to strengthen your faith you have to question it, and talking to people of other faiths helps this. You can express your opinions in RE lessons without fear.’, The college retreat held every year at Myddleton Grange is also felt to be a valuable experience. Alex attended last year and Radhika is looking forward to her first time this month. Alex feels this experience reconfirmed his faith and that being with others who had similar beliefs made his faith stronger. Alex praises staff at the college, who have helped him, in particular, lay chaplain Andrew Sullivan and his RE teachers. Thierry also found the Catholic Care counselling service which is available within college very helpful to him during a period of bereavement ‘,Instead of me finding them’, he said ‘,they had already found me’, All the students felt that masses and assemblies play a large part in supporting their faith. Radhika in particular finds them uplifting, and they encourage her to reflect on the week. Laura particularly values the diversity of presentations with contributions from students often singing or performing in some way, something Alex knows all about as he is often one of the performers reading or playing music. ‘,It is sometimes hard finding a balance between my faith and the demands of full time education’, says Thierry, but he does make time for church every Sunday and attends prayer groups in college when possible. Alex finds that attending mass in the college chapel during the week helps restore the balance. And what does Lent mean to these students? Well, not just giving up chocolate, although Thierry admits this is his Achilles heel! But he sees it as a trigger to remind him of his faith ‘,every time I go to press the button on the vending machine I think about Jesus in the desert for forty days and nights.’, Alex is very clear about it. ‘,For me Lent is a time for reconnecting with your faith and getting to know yourself better. I am reminded of the need to try to follow in the way of Jesus.’, What sacrifices will he be making this year? ‘,Well I am giving up several things. I think the hardest will be ice cream which I really love.’, Radhika is not giving anything up for Lent but feels it is more important to focus on her growth as a person. She is concentrating instead on adopting a more positive approach to life. And Laura feels that ‘,my faith is something I don’,t think about a lot. It’,s something that’,s always there’, All the students agreed they felt they had made the right decision in coming to Notre Dame and Alex summed it up - ‘,This is a great college to be in if you want to explore your faith’, Rosie Hamblyn Faith in their Future Students Swim the Channel for Haiti St Joseph’,s Catholic College is most fortunate to have a pool and therefore we can make a great commitment to swimming, especially in years seven, eight and nine. We have just come up with an exciting new challenge for students over the next few weeks in their swimming lessons. I am asking the girls to work together in teams and as individuals to swim the equivalent length of the English Channel –, 35 Kilometres in their lessons. Each lesson they will be counting the number of lengths swum individually. Each result will then be recorded and calculated together. We are aware of the severe devastation that the earthquake has caused in Haiti and we wanted to help. CAFOD are dedicating their time and support to those who have lost their homes, their families and friends and who are left in utter poverty. Through swimming the English Channel the girls thought it would be an excellent idea to raise awareness and make a difference by raising money for the Haiti appeal. Already they have raised over £,1,800 . . . and they haven’,t finished yet. They all deserve a medal Well done! Jo Davies, PE Teacher Leeds Cathedral Church of St Anne Celebrates Feast of Divine Mercy Date: 2nd Sunday of Easter, 11 April 2010 Venue : Great George Street Leeds LS2 8BE Time : 2:00 pm Prayers, Confessions &, Readings 3:05pm Mass &, D.M.I Veneration 4:30pm Tea in the Cathedral Hall ALL ARE INVITED!

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YOUTH Page 3 Leeds Diocesan Youth Service ‘,All who are thirsty, come!’, (Rev 22:17) For more information about how to register for Leeds Diocesan Youth Service events, check out: www.leedsyouth.org.uk, contact Anna at the Youth Office: 0113 261 8058 / abcleedsdiocese@hotmail.com or join the “,Leeds Diocesan Youth Service”, Facebook group. Saturday 20th March Ceilidh World Youth Day Fundraiser Everyone Welcome! 7.30pm Irish Centre Wednesday 24th March RSVP For young people in Yrs 9-13 7-9pm Cathedral Hall, Leeds Sunday 28th March World Youth Day Pilgrims’, Retreat 12.30-6pm Myddelton Grange Friday 9th April “,Handmaids”, Evening of prayer for young women aged 18-30ish 7-9pm St. Joseph’,s Convent, Hunslet Wednesday 21st April REVELATION For young people in Yrs 9 -13 7-9pm Cathedral Hall, Leeds Leeds Diocesan Youth Service Calendar Youth 2000 : beatification@harrogate Y oung people from across the country gathered at St. John Fisher’,s School. Harrogate for a weekend of prayer, workshops and fun. The Youth 2000 team alongside many volunteers, including plenty of familiar faces from the Diocese of Leeds led the retreat over the course of the weekend. Young people had an opportunity to meet other young Catholics, to share their faith, hear inspiring talks, spend time with the Lord in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Everyone on the Youth 2000 retreat joined the parishioners of St. Robert’,s for Mass on Sunday morning. One parishioner said that ‘,it felt different as I walked into church this morning, almost like the Holy Spirit is tangible!’, After Mass, the young people gathered to share their thoughts about the weekend, particularly the ways in which they felt God had spoken to them. What blessings the Lord poured out over the weekend! Young People RSVP &, Become Leaders E ach year, as Lent approaches, the LDYS team are always on the look out for young people in Year 11 and above to be Small Group Leaders for the LDYS Lenten events. This year was no exception, but the response was overwhelming. This year’,s team are bigger and more enthusiastic than ever before! This year’,s Lent event for young people in Years 9 –, 13 is called “,RSVP”,. It’,s a chance to witness the ‘,new evangelisation’, in action. Each week during “,RSVP”, a different aspect of our Catholic faith is explored and young people have the opportunity to respond to what they have seen and heard by discussion in small groups and through prayer. It’,s important, therefore, that the group leaders are well equipped to deal with facilitating discussion and helping young people to feel comfortable and relaxed in during their small group times. The majority of the team gathered at Hinsley Hall on Sunday 28th February for a training event. It was a wonderful time of teaching and practical preparation for the events. The team were also involved in some filming, which will be used for Week 4 of “,RSVP”,. The staff of Leeds Diocesan Youth Service would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who are involved in executing the Lenten events. Without your help it would not be possible to have such events! CYMFed –, The Congress ‘,We have set our hope on the living God’, Over 1000 youth leaders, chaplains, teachers, priests and religious gathered in London this weekend for the first national Congress for youth leaders spearheaded by CYMFed - the new Catholic Youth Ministry Federation for England and Wales. Headline speakers included Fr Timothy Radcliffe, Abbot Christopher Jamison and Bob and Maggie McCarty (the husband and wife team working in Youth Ministry in America for many years at a senior level). Archbishop Vincent Nichols gave the closing exhortation within the final liturgy. The McCartys called upon the packed Congress to be Jesus to the young Church and asked the youth leaders to think on: ‘,Are we more compassionate? Are we more loving? Are we more peaceful? Are we more courageous? Be not afraid –, I am with you’,. ‘,Connect young people to the faith community. Help the young Church encounter Jesus’,. The McCartys’, full powerpoint presentation: http://bit.ly/bOLFim Fr Timothy Radcliffe addressed the theme of hope: “,The older people need to give hope to the young, by believing in their future. And the young give hope to older people, because they are the future.”, “,My hope is that you will be bearers of hope. The future may look bleak. We may wonder where on earth we are headed. Each of us will live through moments of crisis when the future seems unsure. But every Eucharist we remember the moment when there seemed to be no future except the cross, when it all seemed over, and then Jesus made this extraordinary act of generosity and hope. And so we need never be afraid. We can share our hope with each other.”, Fr Timothy Radcliffe OP’,s full address: http://bit.ly/bOLFim In the Q&,A Abbot Christopher Jamison spoke about the need for ‘,evangelisation by contemplation, not evangelisation by amplification’,. ‘,Spend time in silence yourself. Eventually you will really want to go there. You can offer the integrity of your own silence to other people.’, In his closing exhortation, Archbishop Vincent Nichols said: “,This is a day to make us proud - to restore flagging spirits.”, The conference also saw the launch of `Mapping the Terrain - Discovering the reality of Young Catholics` a new CYMFed publication which maps the terrain the world that young Catholics inhabit. http://www.cymfed.org/CYMFEDresearchMAPPINGTHET ERRAIN.pdf The key message of the Congress was that we will find most hope in Youth Ministry when we work together –, the best Youth Ministry is where young people are offered a variety of approaches to live the Gospel message and to deepen faith, including social action and service, time to be together, and time to contemplate through meditation and Eucharistic Adoration. CYMFed has achieved the bringing together of many different voices within Youth Ministry and offers real hope for the future.

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F or the first time ever, all Marriage Preparation Presenters in the dioceses of Leeds and Hallam (Sheffield), will be spending a day together, Saturday 12th June, in the lovely environs of Wentworth Castle. Organised jointly, the day will be an ideal opportunity to share our good news and some of our difficulties in this vital ministry. Marriage is the primary sacrament and married couples are a ‘,word’, of God as they live their love for each other day in day out. In times of upheaval and uncertainty marriage and stable family life become even more important, as well as more difficult. People who spend time with couples helping them to prepare for their marriage (not the wedding day, but all the days after that!) are doing one of the most important ministries the church can offer to families. If you are a marriage preparation presenter in your local church then you are very welcome to join us. The day will include all refreshments and a lovely hot lunch. Childcare available. Please join us but hurry, places at this lovely site are limited. To find out more and to book your places go to www.flm.org.uk, www.wentworthcastle.org, www.northern.ac.uk, or call 0113 2618050 Page 4 FAMILY LIFE / SIDELINES / MUSIC Imagine it - the `congregation`, some sitting, others standing, just about everyone fully involved in the music of the talented, quirky group playing for them. It`s not often that church musicians have such an attentive hearing. But the occasion I am remembering from a February Saturday night in a city in another diocese was not, actually, church music - hardly surprising really, since I wasn`t in church, but in a club, and the occasion was entirely secular, the group, Race Horses `played a blinding show of fuzzy-pop-choral-noise-psych` according to their tour buddies, Fanfarlo. I had thought I might contrast the devotion of the music fans to the bands at the club with the apparent indifference of the congregation at Mass the following morning to the music there, and throw in a few stinging barbs about the shortcomings of the musicians as well. However, that would display a dire deficiency of Christian charity, most inappropriate for Lent, as well as being more than a bit `beams and motes` on my part. However, I will say that I would hate having to play through that frankly malevolent church sound system (I mean that it was the sound system that was malevolent, not the church...) - high and low notes attenuated, mid-frequencies made muzzy. And the congregation were hardly likely to embrace fully the saying `singing is twice praying` when they had access to the hymn words, but not the Mass parts. Back home in Yorkshire, the various organists in the parish and a rep from the folk group have agreed `who does what` for the Holy Week and Easter services. I am pleased that the folk group has the Penitential service and the Easter Vigil - two occasions where the music steps out of the hymn/mass part/hymn treadmill. (People don`t change a lot over the centuries do they? We `divide up` the services, the soldiers `cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves`). When confessions are being heard in the Penitential service, the group plays suitably gentle and reflective hymns (last year, `There is a longing`, `Come Back to me` and `Now we remain`), but the imponderable is which of us will have avoided the slow queues, and got back in time to play... The Easter Vigil is my favourite service - the new fire, then that poignant and dramatic lighting up of the church, candle by candle, the lessons, with the psalms, the blessing of the baptismal water and maybe some baptisms, the Gloria returning from its Lenten absence. And the final hymn - it has to be something bold and joyous, like `Jesus Christ is risen today`, played with all the stops out. I am looking forward to it. We won`t be playing `fuzzy-pop-choral- noise-psych`, but on that special night, there will be no need to imagine - our congregation will be fully involved! tim.devereux@ssg.org.uk For information about W Yorkshire Church Music Network events, visit www.westyorkshirechurchmusic.org.uk Musical Notes by Tim Devereux Marriage Preparation Presenters ‘,Away-day’, Much has changed since we, Linda Pennington and Breda Theakston, with Theresa Laverick, travelled the length and breadth of the diocese a few years ago with our Home-School- Parish Roadshow. Over a period of about 15 months we visited primary schools, meeting parents, teachers, governors, parish priests and parishioners to share ideas for enlivening home school parish communities. Since then, parishes, schools, families, and we in our different ways, have all lived through interesting, sometimes difficult, times. Even though there has been much change, we have continued to gather and develop resources that will inspire new ways and help build (or rebuild, or enrich) your local church of home, school and parish. After Easter, we two (Theresa’,s work is now in a different diocese) will resume our travels to rekindle contact with some of those home-school-parish communities encountered all those years ago. We have a new workshop on resources that are especially suitable for catechists and family life ministers but that will also be of value to parents, parishioners, parish priests and teachers. Anyone, in fact, whose business it is to raise children, pass on the faith and build the church through enriching relationships in the home, school, parish. This workshop is an opportunity for you to take a fresh look at your ministry and to meet others who may be interested in working with you or in developing new ways to achieve the same end, the building of the kingdom on earth. If you were involved several years ago when we shared resources and sparked initiatives, then join us again and share your story. If you have never been involved in any home, school and parish initiative but have a role in any of those ‘,parts’, of the local church, you are very welcome to join us at any one of the sessions (see separate ‘,Home School Parish Workshops’, box with dates and venues). Why not take the opportunity to make an evening of it by bringing others from your local church (i.e. home, school, parish). That way you can share your ideas with each other and bring new growth where you are. Places are already filling up so call Angela on 0113 261 8050 or email admin@flm.org.uk to book your place (£,5 per person to included resource pack and refreshments). Your invitation to Home-School- Parish workshop The common good refers to what belongs to everyone by virtue of their common humanity. The simple definition of the common good is ‘,the sum total of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to reach their fulfillment more fully and more easily’, say our Bishops in “,choosing the Common Good”, the sequel -you could say- to their ground-breaking document “,the Common Good”, which appeared before the 1997 General Election. We could write several articles about the content of the new docu- ment, but at first it is worth letting the document speak for itself, picking out a few thoughts on one theme (quotations in italics)- the virtues: the virtues form us as moral agents, so that we do what is right and honourable for no other reason than that it is right and honourable, irrespective of reward and regardless of what we are legally obliged to do. Virtue, the report regrets, has been replaced by regulation. This, combined with a collapse of that vital word trust is, we are told. behind the problems and crisis of confidence we face in this country. The four virtues described are Prudence, Courage, Justice, Temperance. Prudence is the opposite of rashness and carelessness: perhaps the lesson of the Iraq Inquiry: Courage is the opposite of opportunism and of evasiveness: Justice is worth quoting in full: Justice is the virtue by which we strive to give what is due to others by respecting their rights and fulfilling our duties towards them. It expands our notion of ‘,self ’, by strengthening the ties between us all. Justice towards God is the ‘,virtue of religion’, which frees us from the tyranny of false gods who would claim our worship. Temperance is not a ban on alcohol, but the opposite of con- sumerism and the “,uninhibited pursuit of pleasure”,. Our society will rediscover its capacity to trust by the recovery of the practice of virtue, and through an ethically founded reform of many of our social and economic institutions. The Post Says …, African &, Caribbean Chaplaincy Huddersfield Deanery Annual National Caribbean Pilgrimage to Walsingham Sunday 27 June 2010 7:00am Coach depart from St George Square outside the railway station in Huddersfield 12 noon Coach Arrival &, Lunch Break at The Shrine 1 :00pm Coach take everyone down to the village 1 :45pm Assemble for Procession, Friday Market in the village 2:00pm Procession along the Holy Mile from the Village to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham (pilgrims unable to walk the mile may be dropped off at the Church) 3:15pm Sung Mass 5:00pm Coach depart Walsingham to return Please bring a Packed Lunch All are welcome including children &, families Coach Price of £,12 per person should be paid in advance No of Seats on the Coach only 51 Booking Coordinators: Sr.Rosemary on 01484532556 And Mrs. M. Philips 01484300276 Chaplain: Rev.Dr. Michael C. Mkpadi

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COME AND SEE Page 5 COME AND SEE Love for those we evangelise O ur theme for this fifth year of Come &, See, is Mission and Evangelisation. Each month a quotation from a key document on Mission and Evangelisation will be included on this page, with a little information about the document it is taken from. Ten years after the closing of the second Vatican Council, and one year after the Third General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which was devoted to evangelisation, Pope Paul VI wrote Evangelii Nuntiandi. This is still a key document today, it built on from Vatican II and set the scene for Pope John Paul II’,s New Evangelisation for the new millennium. “,The work of evangelization presupposes in the evangelizer an ever increasing love for those whom he is evangelizing. That model evangelizer, the Apostle Paul, wrote these words to the Thessalonians, and they are a program for us all: ",With such yearning love we chose to impart to you not only the gospel of God but our very selves, so dear had you become to us.", What is this love? It is much more than that of a teacher, it is the love of a father, and again, it is the love of a mother. It is this love that the Lord expects from every preacher of the Gospel, from every builder of the Church. A sign of love will be the concern to give the truth and to bring people into unity. Another sign of love will be a devotion to the proclamation of Jesus Christ, without reservation or turning back. Let us add some other signs of this love. “,The first is respect for the religious and spiritual situation of those being evangelized. Respect for their tempo and pace, no one has the right to force them excessively. Respect for their conscience and convictions, which are not to be treated in a harsh manner. “,Another sign of this love is concern not to wound the other person, especially if he or she is weak in faith, with statements that may be clear for those who are already initiated but which for the faithful can be a source of bewilderment and scandal, like a wound in the soul. “,Yet another sign of love will be the effort to transmit to Christians not doubts and uncertainties born of an erudition poorly assimilated but certainties that are solid because they are anchored in the Word of God. The faithful need these certainties for their Christian life, they have a right to them, as children of God who abandon themselves entirely into His arms and to the exigencies of love. “,Our appeal here is inspired by the fervour of the greatest preachers and evangelizers, whose lives were devoted to the apostolate. Among these we are glad to point out those whom we have proposed to the veneration of the faithful during the course of the Holy Year. They have known how to overcome many obstacles to evangelization. Such obstacles are also present today, and we shall limit ourself to mentioning the lack of fervour. It is all the more serious because it comes from within. It is manifested in fatigue, disenchantment, compromise, lack of interest and above all lack of joy and hope. We exhort all those who have the task of evangelizing, by whatever title and at whatever level, always to nourish spiritual fervour. Taken from Evangelii Nuntiandi, paragraphs 79-80 A date for your diary…, Corpus Christi Procession Sunday 20th June 2010 2.00 pm - 3.15 pm Followed by refreshments Starting at Mount St Joseph’,s Home (Little Sisters of the Poor) Shire Oak Road, Headingley, LS6 2DE And finishing at Hinsley Hall, 62 Headingley Lane, Leeds LS6 2BX All welcome For more information contact Mrs Janine Garnett on 0113 261 8040 or janine.garnett@dioceseofleeds.org.uk Leeds Middlesbrough Hallam When Yorkshire Priests retire or fall sick they receive support from THE YORKSHIRE BRETHREN FUND Under the patronage of Blessed Nicholas Postgate (founded in 1660) A NYONE CAN HELP THEM BY BECOMING A BENEFACTOR Each Benefactor will have five Masses offered during life or after Death as requested, and share in over 400 monthly Masses offered by Priest Members. Apply to your Parish Priest or The Secretary: Fr Timothy Wiley, St Mary’,s Presbytery, Cross Bank Road, Batley, WF17 8PQ Contribute £,30.00 Registered Charity Number 511025

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Page 6 DEACONS NEWS Deacons Diary B ack in the 1960’,s the then Bishop of Leeds, Bishop Wheeler, sent out a request for priests and nuns to help the Church in Peru to bring the Sacraments to the people and also to help them in practical ways in the poverty and hardship of their daily lives. The Sisters of Mercy in Leeds responded to this call and set up a Mission in a shantytown called Tupac Amaru, situated a few miles from the Centre of Lima. In 1981, Sister Norah (then Catherine) volunteered to join the Mission. When she got there she found people in abject poverty, with no regular means of income and no hope of breaking out of this cycle. She soon discovered that the women she was dealing with were very talented and so set up a Women’,s Workshop to make crafts and hopefully earn an income. The problem then was finding a market, and so we at home were inveigled into service. A group took over the selling of the crafts. The sale of the crafts is not a large project. It is not going to change the Peruvian economy or social systems but it does help a lot of people. At the moment, about 50 women are involved, giving a small but essential income to 50 families. Another important area the Sisters are involved in is the food kitchens. Again, the women organise themselves. They have a rota for food preparation and cooking. Every day, they offer a cooked meal consisting of vegetable soup, rice and beans. This is often the only meal a family will receive —, certainly the only cooked meal. Although everyone pays towards the cost of the meal (around the equivalent of 20p per ‘,menu’, and two ‘,menus’, will feed a family of five), the meals are subsidised by the Sisters. The priests and Sisters face a tremendous challenge - one area alone is the attempt to improve health care. There is no health care in Peru. One of the Sisters, Sister Mildred set up a Clinic where there is free access to a Doctor, but all medication must be paid for. Often, people will buy one tablet at a time. One such person was Maria. Maria suffered from cancer. Helped by her 5 sisters, she paid for her chemotherapy with her earnings from the Workshop. This gave her several years respite, but, sadly, just over a year ago, Maria died leaving 2 children. Sister Elizabeth runs a group called ‘,The Talents’,. In this she lends small sums of money to help members set up their own businesses. The following is a story she sent recently. My name is Roxana. I am 44 years old and am mother and father to my three children. I studied dressmaking and dreamed of being a teacher but was unable to fulfill that dream . At 18 1 got a job in a factory where I learned new skills but earned very little. Eventually I tried to work from home but at that time could not afford to buy a sewing machine. I joined a group in the parish called the Talents, where I could borrow small sums of money. My only capital was 50 soles, about £,10 , which I was really afraid to lose. At last I got a sewing machine of my own and later an over locking machine. With the encouragement and support from the group I was able to let go of my fear. I went to the local market with my machine and set up, little by little. I got clients who were satisfied with my work as I tried to give good service. Also I built up the materials that I need for my work Now I am happy to say that I have my own stall in the market, with 3 machines and 2 over locking machines. As a follow up to this story, Roxanna now goes to the Women’,s Workshop on a weekly basis, to teach the women there new skills. So, her ambition to be a teacher is also being fulfilled. This is all achieved through the generosity of the parishes in the Leeds Diocese. In 2009, we visited 13 parishes selling Peru crafts. Thank you to all those people who gave so generously. All of this money goes back to the Workshop as wages for the women. We also continued our selling of badges to the schools to raise money for the kitchens. This year 4 schools took part and donated £,2965 towards feeding the most needy. During the year the group had various fund raising events. The Unite Union, once again, very generously invited us, in July, to the Yorkshire Show. This is a tremendous boost to the Mission as it brings it to the attention of those who are not necessarily Church goers. We are most grateful for their generosity. Besides all of this, we are indebted to the people who give donations, donate raffle prizes, sell parcels, buy crafts and, in so many ways support the Sisters of Mercy in their work with the poorest people in Lima, Peru. Leeds/Peru support The Mayor calls in A fter a request made by the Mayor of Huddersfield to visit a school of Kirklees, the Y7 students at All Saints took this opportunity and invited the Mayor to speak to them in assembly to support their PSHCE curriculum which at the moment is based around local democracy / elections. The Mayor spoke to the students about her vast role and also spent time, with the help of her two aides and a willing Year 7 volunteer Chloe Welsh, explaining the chain, robes and badges of office worn by the mayor on civil occasions. The visit was enjoyed by all the students and will hopefully now help to build links with the Mayor and the school community. Full Steam Ahead A 17-year-old recruit from Leeds has passed her Royal Navy basic training and celebrated her success as she marched out in February during her passing-out parade. Trainee logistician Leanne Robinson arrived at the gates of HMS Raleigh in Cornwall last November to undergo nine weeks of intensive training designed to transform her from a civilian into a sailor. Leanne said: “,The highlights of the course were building up my fitness, the weapons training, learning self-discipline and the teamwork training. Overall the course has been fun and packed with physical activities.”, The former pupil of Mount St Mary’,s Catholic High School in Leeds previously worked as a cashier. Leanne said: ”,I joined the Royal Navy to have a good career, meet new people and see the world.”, With the first phase of her training complete, Leanne will stay at HMS Raleigh for her professional training within the Defence Maritime Logistics School. Once fully qualified, she will be an accurate and skilled administrator with a wide range of responsibilities at sea and ashore, including maintaining personnel records, cash accounting, pay and allowances. B ig news this month is the ordination of two more men to the Diaconate: Peter Rudd and Joe Cortis will be ordained on 27th March at the Cathedral at 12 noon. This will increase the number of permanent deacons attached to the diocese to 28. Sometimes we are asked why we say “,permanent”, before “,deacon”,. There is no reason, really: there is only one order of deacons. Some are intended to receive another ordination as a priest, others to remain as deacons, permanently. There is from time to time discussion as to whether this should be the case, or whether those called to be priests should be ordained directly to that order, or whether men seeking priesthood should spend longer working as deacons, as part of a discernment process. There are many models, and we can see some in the eastern churches. The strongest here is certainly the deacon as collaborator with the priest in a parish, but developing a distinct ministry serving the People of God “,in the diaconates of the liturgy, of the Word and of charity",. We will shortly have the opportunity to practice the first of these diaconates, when we come to the service of the great services of Holy Week: amongst these is the singing of the Exsultet, part of the duties of a deacon and described by Deacon Greg Kandra in his well known “,Deacons Bench”, blog as “,the liturgical Everest”,: for a deacon, it is, like that climb, a fulfilling and even exhilarating experience to chant for everyone those ancient words telling the story of our salvation. Demonstration versions exist on the internet, one marked “,no actual deacons were harmed in the making…,”, Deacons need not be afraid, as the words themselves start with a message of comfort for the man standing there in darkness, beginning his marathon amidst billowing incense: “,join me in asking God for mercy, that He may give His unworthy minister grace to sing His Easter praises”, Last month, we looked at Universalis.com and their presentation of the Prayer of the Church (the office) online. It is true- for a flat fee of about £,20 you can access (with a two month trial) a neat version, easily clicked, for your computer (or perhaps i- pad?) with the option of the Grail Psalm translations as used in the breviary- for which your fee pays the copyright. If you find ribbon tracking a distraction in your breviary, these prayers start at the beginning at the top, and end at the end at the bottom!

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Page 7 Classified Advertising NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING SERVICE (YORKSHIRE) For free, confidential tuition in the symptothermal method of natural family planning telephone: Leeds (0113) 260 0844 The N.F.P. Service is sponsored by the Diocese of Leeds LEEDS CATHOLIC MARRIAGE CARE Marriage isn’,t always easy —, Counselling can help For an appointment in confidence, with an understanding and experienced listener, please telephone: LEEDS 0113 261 8045 HUDDERSFIELD 01484 422523 A Relationship Counselling Service All Night Vigil of Reparation Walk For Life April 25th Meet outside York Minster For more information call Pat: 07747 698553 Echoes Parish based training for handing on faith at St Anthony of Padua Church, Bradford Road, Clayton, BD14 6HW Wednesday 28 April 2010 7.00 - 9.30pm Echoes is a parish-based training resource designed for those engaged in handing on faith to adults or children. It provides a rounded formation in the central aspects of the Catholic faith and explores how to transmit this to others. This evening offers the opportunity to explore and discuss Echoes and to outline how this resource can be used with parish or deanery groups. Who is this for? Anyone and everyone. No previous knowledge is required. Cost: £,7 (to include Echoes pack) payable in advance. Led by: Fr. John Wilson &, Mrs Linda Pennington How do I book? Contact Mrs Janine Garnett, Vicariate for Evangelisation, Hinsley Hall, 62 Headingley Lane, Leeds, LS6 2BX. Tel 0113 261 8040 or email janine.garnett@dioceseofleeds.org.uk For more information about Echoes go to www.dioceseofleeds.org.uk/evangelisation African &, Caribbean Chaplaincy Leeds and Bradford Communities Annual National Caribbean &, African Pilgrimage to Walsingham Sunday 27 June 2010 6:15am Coach depart from Alhambra Theatre Bd7 1AJ Bradford 7.00am Coach depart from St Anne’,s Cathedral Leeds 12 noon Coach Arrival &, Lunch Break at the Shrine 1 :00pm Coach take everyone down to the village 1 :45pm Assemble for Procession, Friday Market in the village 2:00pm Procession along the Holy Mile from the Village to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham (pilgrims unable to walk the mile may be dropped off at the Church) 3:15pm Sung Mass: 5:00pm Coach depart Walsingham to return Please bring a Packed Lunch. All are welcome including children &, families Coach Price of £,12 per person should be paid in advance Please Contact Immediately Rev Michael on 0113 2959718 or mob. 07884197261 First Come First Served. Available seats and time limited!! Booking Form I /We wish to go on a pilgrimage to Walsingham on Sunday 27 June 2010 Name (s)…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…, Address &, phone number …,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…, …,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…,…, I enclose the sum £,12 per person. (Please make Cheques payable to LEEDS DIOCESE and send them together with the completed form to the chaplain: Rev Michael Mkpadi No. 1 Deanswood Gardens Leeds LS17 5JF ) RITE OF ELECTION 2010 T he Rite of Election was held at Cathedral Church of St Anne`s, Leeds on Sunday, 21st February. The Diocese was well represented, despite the weather. In fact during his words of welcome Bishop Roche said that as he looked out of the window in the early morning he did wonder if anyone would make it - but they had and he thanked them for coming. They were he said gathered in the Cathedral as they started out on the last part of their journey to join in full the Catholic Church. About 100 people had gathered for the rite of Election and affirmation, so along with their sponsors and friends the Cathedral was as near full as possible. In his homily the Bishop pointed out how it was that they had been chosen by God - how he had chosen them. He also pointed out how it was a very special year to be a convert and that they should be proud of it. It was special because this year would see the beatification of Cardinal Newman - that most famous of converts. He did warn them though that it would not all be light but that there would be darkness in their lives as well, - at the end of the darkness there would be light. Their job was to carry the light out into the world and be missionaries. At the end of the service Bishop Roche invited all the candidates back to meet him again on the Eve of Pentecost and he challenged them to return next year with someone else who wanted to join the Church. HIGH COURT AGREES In the light of judgement from the High Court, given on Wednesday, Bishop Roche has issued the following statement: ‘,The Court has confirmed that Catholic Care was correct in its reading of the Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 and has agreed with us that Regulation 18 can apply to any charity subject to it being in the public interest. We look forward to producing evidence to the Charity Commission to support the position that we have consistently taken through this process that without being able to use this exemption children without families would be seriously disadvantaged. Catholic Care has been providing specialist adoption services for over 100 years. We have helped hundreds of children though the recruitment, assessment, training and support for prospective adoptive parents as well as offering on-going and post-adoption support to families that give such security and love for some of the most vulnerable children in our society. The judgement today will help in our determination to continue to provide this invaluable service to benefit children, families and communities.’, + The Right Reverend Arthur Roche Bishop of Leeds March 17th 2010

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PAGE 8 INTERFAITH “,Meeting God In Friend And Stranger”, Fostering Respect and mutual Understanding between the Religions T his “,Teaching Document of the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales on Dialogue with People of other Religions”, will be launched nationally at Westminster by Archbishop Kevin Nichols on April 23rd. and in our own diocese of Leeds on April 28th 2010 by Bishop Arthur Roche. It will be available as a CTS publication. This document from the Bishops of England and Wales on relations between the different religions has been long in the planning. It is timely because when, at their recent visit to Rome they presented their ad limina report to Pope Benedict, he spoke of the need to strengthen dialogue in the UK with the other religions. Interreligious dialogue is one of his top priorities. He has stressed, like his predecessor Pope John Paul, that dialogue is not an option but a necessity in our world today. It is not too much to say with Hans Kung that, peace between the nations depends on peace between the religions. Action on climate change on behalf of the poor is all the more powerful if backed by the great world religions speaking and acting in concert. Social cohesion, a cause so beloved of successive governments, is increasingly taking into account the contribution which comes from the different religious communities in the UK acting and speaking in partnership. In these and so many different ways, interreligious dialogue is vital for our common good both now and in the future. The Bishops do not invite Catholics to become involved in dialogue only because, without it, action for peace and justice and care for creation is less likely to be advanced. Dialogue with members of other faiths springs from a deeper imperative. The God we know in Christ is a God who has invited us into the dialogue of His life in the Trinity from the dawn of creation and from the birth of each one of us. By Baptism we are invited to join in the eternal dialogue of God and this involves us in “,dialogue”, with all humanity and in particular with those who seek to mould their lives round a belief in God. Dialogue should be part of our “,DNA”, as Catholic Christians. If you want to learn more about the teachings and messages contained in the document then come and join us at an open evening designed to explain its content and significance at Hinsley Hall on Tuesday 18th May. We will gather at 7pm for a 7.30 start and finish by 9pm Everyone is most welcome but please book with David Jackson, Tel: 01274 581094, or email: dandt55@btinternet.com The Diocesan Interreligious Commission is offering courses or single sessions if you want to find out more about the document and what it means for us in our parishes, deaneries, schools, colleges, hospitals, work places etc. We intend also to enable members of other faiths who want to know what the Catholic Church is saying about dialogue to be able to do so. We have tailor made courses to suit your needs –, from 1 to 4 evenings or a full day. Just call us: interfaith@dioceseofleeds.org.uk or contact David Jackson. 01274 581094. dandt55@btinternet.com Those involved in interreligious relations are fond of quoting those lines from Acts when it dawns on St Peter that the work of the Spirit of God “,blows where it wills”,: “,I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him”, (Acts 10:35) The Bishops’, new statement will, we hope, prompt us to bring dialogue more comfortably and closely into the life and mission of the Church in these parts. Feasts and Festivals March 24: Rama Navami (Hindu) Birthday of Lord Rama, incarnation of Vishnu and the hero of the Ramayana. March 30: Theravada New Year (Buddhist) Celebrated for 3 days from the first new moon in April. March 30: Magha Puja (Buddhist) The Fourfold Assembly or Sangha day when Buddha addressed a meeting of 1250 followers. March 30: Passover (Jewish) Start of the season of passover –, commemorating the liberation of the Children of Israel led out of Egypt by Moses. April 6: Passover final day. April 13: Vaisakhi (Sikh) New Year festival and the day when the Khalsa or Sikh Communiy was founded by the Tenth Guru Gobind Singh in 1699. April 14: Birthday of Guru Nanak (Sikh) The founder of Sikhism born on this day in 1469. April 18: Birth of Guru Tegh Bahadur (Sikh) The 9th Guru 1621 to 1675. April 18: Birth of Guru Angal Dev (Sikh) The 2nd Guru 1504 –, 1552. I n February students from the Theatre Studies dept at Notre Dame College mounted a production of Brecht’,s ‘,A Respectable Wedding’, The play is set in a tiny flat for the wedding reception of the Groom and his very pregnant Bride. With all the embarrassment of a (very drunk) Best Friend, A Father who won’,t keep his mouth shut, a Mother who keeps wheeling in plate after plate of food, a Sister who disappears to the kitchen with a Young Man and the constant yet comical bickering of a Husband and Wife all accompanied by a frenzy of ever- breaking furniture. This is one party you would never want to go to! The cast was lead by Lawrence Uziell Hamilton and Janina Engler as the happy couple with James Clarke providing some very comic moments as the groom’,s friend. Lighting design was by James Silkstone and Naomi Stead produced the sound. The collapsible set was designed and constructed by Paul Graeme the Dept production manager. The production was rehearsed in just four weeks and was directed by Becki Fox and Emily Sait two U6 students ",Working with the cast and crew of `A Respectable Wedding` has been an amazing experience,’, said Emily. “,I have really developed my understanding of theatre through directing, and though the whole process was challenging from day one, I think everyone will agree that the result on performance night was well worth all the extra lunchtimes and long evenings!", Wedding Bells at Notre Dame Vicariate for Outreach Interreligious Commission “,Meeting God in Friend and Stranger”, Fostering Respect and mutual Understanding between the Religions A Teaching Document of the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales On Dialogue with People of other Religions The document will be launched nationally on April 23rd and in Leeds Diocese on April 28th 2010 by Bishop Arthur Roche. You are invited to an open evening to explain its content and significance at Hinsley Hall on Tuesday 18th May. From 7pm for 7.30 start. Close by 9pm Everyone welcome but please book with David Jackson: 01274 581094, dandt55@btinternet.com If you want to find out more about the document and what it means for us in our parish, deanery, school, college, hospital, work place etc…, For those of other faiths who want to know what the Catholic Church is saying about dialogue…, We have tailor made courses to suit your needs. –, from 1 to 4 evenings or a full day, Just call us interfaith@dioceseofleeds.org.uk or David Jackson. 01274 581094. dandt55@btinternet.com I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him (Acts 10:35) Senior church leaders across West Yorkshire came together on Ash Wednesday, to sign a joint declaration calling on politicians, in the run up to a General Election, to pursue policies which will lead to greater respect for people of all backgrounds and to a reduction in the gap between rich and poor. The far-reaching joint statement, “,Every Person Matters”,, was signed at the start of Lent in the church’,s calendar. Leaders of the Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, United Reformed, Salvation Army, African Caribbean, Quaker, and Moravian churches will come together in Bradford to sign the declaration and jointly commit their churches to expanding their service to the community in order to help the poorest in society and work towards reducing inequality.. The joint statement was signed by leaders of WYEC, the West Yorkshire Ecumenical Council, Pastor Gloria Hanley, Chair of WYEC, the Bishop of Ripon &, Leeds, the Catholic Bishop of Leeds, the Chair of Leeds Methodist District, the Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain, and a representative of the Society of Friends, : the Bishop of Bradford, the Bishop of Wakefield, the Chair of West Yorkshire Methodist District, the Moderator of Yorkshire Synod of the United Reformed Church, the Regional Moderator of Yorkshire Baptist Association, the Chairman of Yorkshire District of the Moravian Church, the Yorkshire Divisional Commander of the Salvation Army. The event was witnessed by the Revd. David Gamble, national President of the Methodist Conference. In the lead up to a General Election, Pastor Gloria Hanley, Chair of WYEC, said that church leaders wanted to remind politicians of the enormous needs facing areas such as West Yorkshire. “,Nationally, and across Yorkshire, the wide gap between the richest and poorest people brings mental and physical illness, rising crime and fear of crime, and lowers educational results. An unsustainable divide between levels of wealth and poverty leads to disrespect for other people and a strain on family life and social order.“, Dr. Clive Barrett, County Ecumenical Development Officer for WYEC, said the statement also affirmed the important community work already being carried out by churches across the region, much of it unsung. The event took place at St Christopher’,s, Holme Wood, Bradford. This is an Anglican church that is involved with community work and out reach in many forms –, not least of which is serving 100 hot meals a day to people of the area. Senior church leaders issue united call to reduce inequality Pastor Gloria Hanley Bishop Roche

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L ater this month, many dioceses of Britain will celebrate the life and spiritual teaching of Monseñ,or Oscar Romero, the Archbishop of El Salvador from 1977 - 1980. Bishop Arthur and the Archbishop of Birmingham, Bernard Longley, will travel to El Salvador to be personally present at the week of remembrance events there on the thirtieth anniversary of his assassination and martyrdom. Monseñ,or Romero, a courageous and inspirational church leader, was shot dead for speaking out against a repressive military government and the torture and killing of many social leaders, priests and religious who were calling for social reform. Romero’,s death marked the beginning of a brutal 12 year civil war in which 75,000 people were killed and many more were tortured or forced to flee the country. In Spanish, El Salvador means ´,The Saviour´,. In some respects, Romero was and remains a saviour for many people in El Salvador who see him as a figure of love and hope, and a symbol of the Church´,s commitment to social justice. Lá,zaro, a humble artisan painter, lives in the border town of La Palma and makes colourful, wooden crosses and other beautiful crafts. Many of his crosses are sold by CAFOD in the UK and decorate homes and churches across England and Wales. Lá,zaro speaks about Romero with warmth and reverence. “,I admire Romero. I wasn´,t very old when he was alive, but I remember him and I admire him for his love of God and his courage to defend people who were abused. That is why we in El Salvador celebrate his anniversary.”, Lá,zaro´,s family are painters and work with other families in La Palma who are carpenters. Thanks to the sale of crosses through CAFOD, about 20 people in the town have a regular income, including single mothers who depend on this work as a way of sustaining their children. The painting on the crosses is very delicate and full of symbolism. The main image is of Christ on the Cross, and the title is ´,The New Creation´,. Lá,zaro explains that this refers to the new creation following the death of Christ. Above Christ is the sun that gives light to the world. The dove symbolises the Holy Spirit. The people below represent the disciples, and the animals signify creation and nature. The main message from this image is that God came to free his people from sin. As we approach the thirtieth anniversary of Romero´,s martyrdom, the symbolism of Christ on the cross seems to resonate in a striking way. Here was a church leader who knew full well the risks that he ran in speaking out against a brutal and corrupt regime. Weeks before his death, he acknowledged that he was prepared to face the ultimate consequences. The chapel of the Divine Providence in San Salvador city was the place of Romero’,s martyrdom. As he presided at mass on Sunday 24 March 1980, a jeep full of soldiers drove by. A marksman got out, stood in the doorway and took aim. Seconds later, Romero´,s corpse lay bleeding on the floor. His martyrdom expresses the Church´,s commitment to peace and justice in the face of violence all over the world. With great affection and tenderness, many people in El Salvador refer to him today as Saint Romero of the Americas. El Salvador Crosses are available from the Leeds office at £,2 0113 275 9302 leeds@cafod.org.uk CAFOD PAGE 9 Bishop Arthur Travels to El Salvador to mark Anniversary of Archbishop Romero’,s Martyrdom A round seventy members of the UCM and CWL gathered with CAFOD supporters on Saturday 27th February for a special celebration to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the first Family Fast Day. In 1960 Sr. Alicia, Sister Mary Alicia MBE, a dynamic Belgian nun from the Missionary Sisters of St Augustine, was trying to raise money for a project she had founded in Dominica, one of the Caribbean Windward islands. Children were dying from lack of food and this was particularly acute in the parish of Roseau, the capital of Dominica, where the project was based. Shockingly, 80 per cent of newborns had died in one year. Sister Alicia was witnessing devastating sights on a daily basis. Mrs Jacqueline Stuyt, who had met Sr Alicia, decided to do something. She enlisted three friends in the women’,s movements Norma Warmington, Elspeth Orchard and Evelyn White. Together they came up with the idea of raising funds by asking families to mark ‘,Ember Friday’, in Lent by praying, fasting and by donating the money they saved to help these infants. From the outset it was never just a case of raising money –, the women wanted the money to come as a result of some kind of action or sacrifice on the part of the people giving it –, solidarity. They designed and made the first fast day envelopes and sent them to all the parishes in England and Wales –, expecting to raise about £,600. They raised £,6000 –, equivalent to £,100,000 today! Because of the huge success of this first Fast day they repeated it the following year and raised £,32,000 –, providing enough to build and run and Infant clinic in Dominica. Recognising that the women were touching the heart of our faith in creating a way to respond in solidarity to the call of the gospel, the Bishops of England and Wales formed CAFOD in 1962 to be the overseas development arm of the Church. Since that first fast day the Catholic community has donated over £,65, million through fast days alone –, a wonderful example of putting faith into action. The anniversary was celebrated with mass at Myddelton Grange as a way of thanking the CWL, UCM and National Board of Catholic Women for their faithful commitment to the world’,s poor over fifty years. There were lots of memories to be shared as the women remembered their many and varied fundraising events. Mollie Lamb from Halifax joined the UCM fifty-two years ago when her daughter was only 6 weeks old and another lady had been a member for 58 years. It was a fitting occasion to mark the important role these women’,s organisations have played in our parishes for many years. CAFOD expressed gratitude to Mgrs. Kieran Heskin and Peter Rosser who not only joined us to concelebrate mass, but who have also been strong advocates for those in need throughout their priestly ministry. Mgr Heskin spoke movingly about God’,s faithfulness and demand for justice and the role CAFOD has played within the Church, ‘,Fr Pedro Arrupe became Superior General of the Jesuits in the year that the Second Vatican Council ended and he held this post for the next eighteen years. When asked towards the end of his life what he considered the greatest contribution of Vatican II. He said it must be the awareness that it created in the church of the needs of those living in the developing countries and of our responsibility to them. This highly important change was not brought about solely or simply by Austin Flannery’,s translation of the Council documents or by inspiring homilies on the Council. A very great share of the credit for bringing about this change among the Catholics of England and Wales can be taken by CAFOD. The two annual CAFOD fast days and the special collections that were put in place following various disasters have had a very formative effect in this regard. They have put the human needs of large numbers of people before our eyes. They have reminded us that we are the keepers of our less well off and, in all too many cases, our starving brothers and sisters. They have also made us aware that despite the enormity of the problems, there are things that we can do to help. The voice of CAFOD is a prophetic voice which constantly reminds us, with the full weight of the Scriptures behind it, that if our Christianity is to be real Christianity it must observe the second commandment as well as the first. We must not be so heavenly minded that we are no earthly use. We, the Church and the individual follower of Christ, must always be concerned while there are people in need and we must do all we can to make things better. ‘, A simple soup and bread lunch was followed by a presentation of the story of the founding mothers and a DVD of people from around the world whose lives have been transformed because of the generosity of our parishes and schools. CAFOD’,S Founding Mothers •, were moved by compassion to do something practical to help alleviate the sufferings of others •, were open to learning from others •, were ordinary people –, women –, housewives and mothers (lay people) •, were committed Catholics –, inspired by their faith •, worked directly with people already working on the ground overseas •, were motivated from the outset to involve fellow Catholics –, all parishes and communities in England and Wales •, Sounds like CAFOD doesn’,t it? Sounds like all of us! Thank-you again for 50 years of support!! CAFOD’,s Founding Mothers UCM and CWL celebrate

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Page 10 FEATURE St. Patrick’,s Day Parade The sun shone on Sunday, 14th March 2010 for the 11th St. Patrick’,s Day Parade as it processed through the streets of Leeds, led by the Lord Mayor, Cllr. Judith Elliott, starting and finishing in Millenium Square. There were three bands including the Leeds Pipe Band providing the music along the way with various dance groups. People had travelled from all over Yorkshire to come and celebrate, many wearing something “,green”,! Mr. Gerry Kelly, from the Irish Embassy and his two young daughters helped to judge the several floats which were decorated with an Irish theme –, the winning float was the Elizabeth McCleave School of Irish Dancing. Once back at Millenium Square the entertainment didn’,t stop, it carried on for the afternoon. While the sun shone, the craic was good!!

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FEATURE Page 11 Guys and Dolls at All Saints College T his week a cast of over 48 students from All Saints Catholic College, have performed the popular musical Guys and Dolls junior, to sell out audiences of parents, friends and members of the local community. Guys and Dolls is Set in mythical New York City. This Broadway classic introduces us to colourful characters who have become legends in musical history: Sarah Brown, played by Eillish Timmons the up¬,right and uptight ",mission doll,", out to reform the evildoers of Times Square, Sky Masterson, played by Oscar Zito the slick, high-rolling gambler who woos her on a bet and ends up falling in love, Adelaide, played by Shannan Timmons the nightclub performer whose chronic cold is brought on by the fact she`s been engaged to the same man for 14 years, and Nathan Detroit, her devoted fiancé,, played by Josh Collins desperate as always to find a spot for his infamous floating crap game. Everything works out in the end, thanks to the twists and turns of the hilarious, fast-paced show which takes us from Times Square to Havana to the sewers of Manhattan, with a bright dances, a range of love songs and famous show tunes to sing along to. The whole college came together to make this production a great success, with students making the set and props, being stage crew, operating the sound and lighting equipment and helping out front of house. Rachel Lamont, one of the Hotbox Dancers said: “,This has been an exciting and enjoyable experience. I have had so much fun over the past few months, have made lots of new friends, and even though the performance has just been for entertainment, I can use my work towards my GCSE grade which is great”,. Guys and Dolls follows on from the success of last years performance of Annie, and we hope to continue our reputation of producing outstanding performances next year. Watch this space for information about what the next show will be! GUARANTEED WEEKLY PRIZES , 1st Prize £,2,000 , 2nd Prize £,200 , 3rd Prize £,50 , Plus 150 prizes of £,5 each WEEKLY PRIZES Entry only £,1 per week - Drawn every Friday INTERESTED? Please return the coupon below to: The Lottery Office, Wheatfields Hospice, Grove Road, Leeds, LS6 2AE. For more information telephone 0113 278 1500 NOW St Gemma’,s and Wheatfields Lottery If you want to help JOIN NOW Please make cheques payable to: ST GEMMA’,S &, WHEATFIELD LOTTERY Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms/Other Name .................................................................... Address ...................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... .................................................................................................................... Postcode:................................... Tel: ......................................................... PLEASE TICK PREFERRED PAYMENT METHOD AND RETURN TO THE LOTTERY OFFICE CHEQUE –, Minimum £,10 (to be sent now) STANDING ORDER CASH COLLECTION Visa/Switch Telephone 0113 278 1500 CALL NOW! We can all be winners £,1 gives you the chance to win £,2,000 GIFT VOUCHERS NOW ON SALE Winners are automatically paid by post each week. All profits shared equally between St Gemma’,s &, Wheatfields Hospices. Registered with the Gambling Commission for Great Britain LOTTERY NEW MEMBERS’, FORM

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Page 12 LEEDS TRINITY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE There’,s always someone to turn to at Leeds Trinity By Paul Coman Director of Student Support I joined Leeds Trinity as Director of Student Support in 2001, having previously taught in both schools and higher education, along with some student support work. As an alumnus of the former Trinity &, All Saints College –, I did a History degree, then lived on campus as a Hall Warden –, it was fascinating to see how the college had developed in the intervening years. At Leeds Trinity we are proud to provide our students with the full range of support services they would expect in a larger institution, with the added bonus of the personal touch unique to a campus community like ours. An important aspect of our community is that so many of the first years live on site, with peer support provided by Senior Residents, students living in halls who work as part of Student Support. All the services are under one roof, at the heart of the main campus building. So whether students need assistance and advice on financial matters, health, careers, dyslexia and disability issues, or wish to see a counsellor, we are accessible and easy to find. Students face many stresses these days. The government’,s expectation that they will work part-time makes it hard for them to study full- time, while also emerging is the pressure to appear distinctive and stand out in the job market as more graduates compete for fewer jobs. Within Student Support we see predominantly students who are worried or distressed, or even facing disciplinary matters, however they are overwhelmingly very pleasant to work with which makes our jobs all the more fulfilling. I’,m in the happy position of being able to combine my Student Support role with some teaching on social policy, enabling me to see student life from a different perspective and understand the academic pressures facing both students and their lecturers. This is the first denominational institution that I have worked in, and in my experience Leeds Trinity’,s interpretation of the Catholic ethos creates a context in which student support is valued and given a high priority. If you would like to know more about student support at Leeds Trinity, please call 0113 283 7196 or email studentsupport@leedstrinity.ac.uk Wednesday 21 April 9.00am to 2.30pm Sixth Form Revision Day –, Religious Studies For more information and to book contact Dr Ann Marie Mealey on 0113 283 7100 ext 539 or email a.mealey@leedstrinity.ac.uk Wednesday 28 April 7.00pm Inaugural Trinity Lecture by Dr John McDade SJ, entitled “,The death of God? The Trinity and human suffering.”, Preceded by Evening Prayer at 6.40pm in the Chapel. For more information contact Dominica Richmond on 0113 283 7100 x 393 or email d.richmond@leedstrinity.ac.uk Friday 28 May 9.30am to 4.00pm Catholic Partnership Day “,Praying with young people”, with keynote speaker Rev Fr John Wilson. Open to teachers from primary and secondary schools in the Catholic sector. For more information contact Anne Trotter on 0113 283 7177 or email a.trotter@leedstrinity.ac.uk Events at Leeds Trinity University College Guardian editor and BBC news boss headline at Leeds Trinity “,Be flexible, curious, tenacious, energetic, consume the media and be yourself.”, This was the advice given to trainee journalists by Director of BBC News Helen Boaden, speaking alongside Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger at the end of Leeds Trinity University College’,s Journalism Week. Journalism Week brought some leading names from the media onto campus to give students a unique insight into the workings of the news media and current trends in the industry. Helen Boaden also strongly defended the license fee as the guarantor of BBC independence, while Alan Rusbridger gave insights into the changing world of the media and the role played by the public in developing stories, or what he called the “,mutual newspaper”,. Illustrating his talk with a range of examples from online media, social networking sites and newspapers, Alan said, “,We are moving from a world where journalists didn’,t like contact with their audience, to a period of experimentation with mutualisation”,. “,The balance is changing –, we can report on what people are interested in not what we think they should be interested in. This should lead to better journalism as it will enable us to get at the truth more quickly.”, Faith Wilkinson, studying for a Postgraduate Diploma in Broadcast Journalism at Leeds Trinity, said, “,It has made me think about the future of journalism, how we fit into that and what skills we need. We have enjoyed talks this week from a range of high profile figures, learning about journalism on the ground from the reporters’, perspective to the strategic issues facing their bosses.”, Leeds Trinity’,s choir on song for Canterbury Cathedral festival T he choir of Leeds Trinity University College rose to the occasion magnificently when called upon to perform in the splendour of Canterbury Cathedral. Accustomed to singing in the more modest surroundings of the Chapel on campus, the 16 strong choir held their own when they performed in the cathedral during the 22nd Annual Church Universities and Colleges Choirs Festival on 27 February. Choirs from 12 institutions took part in the special concert, in which each choir gave an individual performance before coming together as a massed choir of around 350 voices to sing John Rutter’,s “,Requiem.”, Leeds Trinity’,s choir, directed by Dr Fiona Thompson, sang “,King David”, by Leeds composer Dr David Fligg. Fiona said, “,I chose the piece to suit the setting of Canterbury Cathedral - it is a serious piece that is technically demanding, and allows a small choir like ours to produce a big sound that resonates with the echoes in the cathedral. “,It was a really special occasion for us to be able to sing in such a venue and with so many excellent choirs from sister institutions.”, The Choir Festival was the culmination of the Conference of Vice Chancellors and Principals of Church Universities and Colleges, and the Conference of Chaplains. Fr Paul Grogan, Resident Chaplain at Leeds Trinity, said, “,A very intimate atmosphere was created in the choir of the cathedral where the audience sat to hear the singers in the sanctuary. The 16 singers from Leeds Trinity held the melody beautifully with great clarity of diction and the body of sound they created filled the space.”,

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POLISH NEWS 13 Funeral Services W. Lever Ltd BRADFORD 01274 547137 524 THORNTON ROAD, BRADFORD BD8 9NB FOR OVER 75 YEARS PROVIDING A COMPLETE PERSONAL &, CARING 24 HOUR FUNERAL SERVICE CHAPEL OF REST H UGHES F UNERAL S ERVICES (Catholic Funeral Directors) 180 YORK ROAD, LEEDS LS9 9NT. Tel 2480953/63 152 GREEN LANE, CROSSGATES. Tel 2326900 3 HOLLIN PARK PARADE, OAKWOOD ROUNDABOUT Tel 2499338 Web: wwww.hughesfuneralservices.co.uk Email: info@hughesfuneralservices.co.uk Family owned and managed. Fully Qualified in all aspects. 24 Hour Service Guaranteed Fixed Price Funeral Plans etc. “,At a time of bereavement we carry out our duties with dignity and respect”, In times of bereavement please contact: B. J. MELIA &, SONS (B. J. Melia Dip F.D.) F UNERAL D IRECTORS AND M ONUMENTAL M ASONS Private Chapel of Rest 64 GIBBET STREET, HALIFAX Telephone: 01422 354453 PRE-PAID FUNERAL SERVICE AVAILABLE DETAILS ON REQUEST Wanted for the Missions Large Statues (Even damaged ones), old vestments, pictures, church fittings, rosaries, prayer books, etc. Please ring Mr. B. Ferris KSC, 102 Moor St, Earlsdon, Coventry CV5 6EY Tel: 02476 676986 For Advertising contact CathCom on 020 7112 6710 Sidelines The BBC’,s recent proposals to shrink itself still has the feel of Turkeys voting for Christmas. Removing two minority radio stations that could presumably be run on a shoestring, lopping the poor old website and selling off Radio Times sounds, as a pre-emptive strike at its critics, like too little, too soon. In recent years, some politicians have not liked the power of the Beeb and in their insecurity have introduced layers of bureaucracy. Inevitably the costs of such an organization have risen and so the licence fee has been pitched into the political ring- a useful and perhaps unforeseen outcome for the Beeb’,s opponents. The licence fee amounts to much less than many pay for just one mobile phone rental, and when you think that it guarantees that your time is not invaded by advertisements, giving you about ten minutes more proper TV every hour, it has to be a bargain. The Beeb again has no favours done for it by those sinister and even Orwellian licence payment-enforcing adverts. Is it the case that no-one seems to think there is anything wrong with the king- making antics of the big media companies using mass-circulation papers (I can’,t bring myself to say “,news”,) to back politicians , and the political pressure seems to be to sell out to such commercial media interests. Why? Is there a rational explanation, or should we become worried? Is the reduction in the BBC website intended to placate newspaper &, other commercial interests who want to violate the sacred rule of the world wide web and charge for “,content”,? I think we should be told. Minesher, although the alternatives seem many times worse, there are things about the Beeb that need to get better. Despite some good documentaries its regular religious output can be pretty grim (although its competitors have little or none), with the rather disorientated blandness of flagship Songs of Praise doing faith no favours. It has been accused of showing disfavour to the church and it could be accused over a recent spot in one of our regional shows, where Barnsley-born local author Joanne “,Chocolat”, Harris had a go at faith schools. In fairness (or unfairness?) she lists one of her interests as “,priest- baiting”,, but her own educational background at Wakefield Girls High and Leeds Grammar Schools suggests that although she has at some time herself embraced very selective education, but wants to deny it to people of faith. It is not clear, though, how much the church does to help itself in media matters: because of what was once described as our rather “,furtive”, presence in this country, we may be tempted to regard the media with distaste, and contact as a last resort, when we then are on the back foot and appear defensive. The media is not always out to get us, especially at local level, and well presented “,good news”, can be newsworthy as well as the bad. It is good therefore to learn that an ",authoritative but unofficial", group of “,media-trained and well-briefed Catholic speakers”, is being prepared for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the UK. It is to be hoped that this may be a new beginning. Benchmark POLISH EASTER EGGS E aster is an important time in the Gregorian calendar and over time, the tradition of Easter eggs developed. The egg is used to symbolise the revival of nature and the hope of resurrection. In Poland, Easter eggs are called pisanki. They are usually eggs from a chicken, goose or duck and are decorated using various techniques. Kraszanki (sometimes called malowanki or byczki) are made by boiling the egg in the leaves or petals of flowers/ plants or other natural products. The colour of a kraszanka depends on the kind of product used. Onion peels produce a brown colour. Oak or alder bark or the nutshell of a walnut results in a black coloured egg. A golden colour can be made using the bark of a young apple tree or the petals of a marigold flower. The petals of the mallow flower create a violet appearance. A green colour is provided by the shoots of young rye or leaves of periwinkle. Beetroot can be used to produce a pink colour. Some eggs are made by scratching the surface of the egg with a sharp tool to reveal the white of the egg shell. These are called drapanki or skrobanki. Whereas, pisanki are created by drawing (Polish: pisanie) on an egg shell covered with a layer of molten wax, or alternately drawing designs with wax on a bare egg. The egg is then submerged into a dye. Naklejanki or nalepianki are eggs decorated with the petals of elderberry tree, scraps of colourful paper (including paper cut outs called wycinanki) or with patches of cloth. Eggs can also be decorated with bulrush pith or yarn and such eggs are called oklejanki or wyklejanki. Oklejanki are common in the Podlasie region of Poland. The oldest known Polish pisanki date from the 10th century, although it is probable that eggs were decorated by Slavic people even earlier. In the past, only women decorated eggs. Men were not allowed to come inside the house during the process, as it was believed that they could put a spell on the eggs, and cause bad luck. Until the 12th century, the Catholic church forbade the consumption of eggs during Easter. The church wished to distance itself from the pagan roots of the tradition connected with the cult of the dead, in which the egg played an important role as a symbol of rebirth. This ban was lifted, but it was necessary to offer a special prayer before eating. Today in Poland, eggs and pisanki are hallowed on Easter Saturday along with the traditional Easter basket. On Easter Sunday, before the ceremonial breakfast, these eggs are exchanged and shared among the family at the table. This is a symbol of friendship, similar to the sharing of the oplatek (Christmas wafer) on Christmas Eve. Marzec/ March: 13ego/ 13th “,Dwie Blizny”, –, Przedstawienie Fredreum/ Theatre Performance by Fredreum 14ego/ 14th Dzien Matki/ Mother’,s Day –, Kawa i Kwiatki/ Coffee and Flowers –, Organised by the Polish Saturday School. 21ego/ 21st Walne Zebranie Wspoltnoty Parafialnej/ Polish Parish Annual General Meeting 28ego/ 28th Niedziela Palmowa/ Palm Sunday –, Kiermasz/ Spring Fair –, Organised by the Polish Saturday School. Kwiecien/ April: 11ego/ 11th Swiecone Parafialne/ Parish Easter Celebration 17ego/ 17th Zabawa/ Ball –, Organised by Junacy (Polish Paramilitary Youth from the 1930s) 18ego/ 18th Uroczystosci Katynskie/ Katyn Commemoration Maj/ May: 1ego/ 1st Zabawa/ Ball –, Organised by Zjednoczenie Polskie ( The Federation of Poles) 2ego/ 2nd Akademia 3ego Maja/ Show commemorating the Polish Constitution of the 3rd of May - Organised by the Polish Saturday School 16ego/ 16th Walne Zebranie Kola SPK nr. 413/ Annual General Meeting of the Polish Ex- Combatants Association in Leeds 22ego/ 22nd Noc czuwania na Zielone Swiatki/ Vigil on the Eve of Pentecost 30ego/ 30th Pierwsza Komunia Swieta/ First Holy Communion CO SIE U NAS DZIEJE W PARAFII W LEEDS? WHAT’,S ON IN THE LEEDS POLISH PARISH? F ebruary the 22nd is World Thinking Day. It is a day when girl guides and scouts think about the meaning of Guiding and Scouting and about Scouts and Guides in all the countries of the world. The date is significant as it was the birthday of Scouting founder Robert Baden-Powell and of Olave Baden- Powell, his wife and World Chief Guide. This year, the Polish scout movement is celebrating 100 years of its existence. The Polish Scouting Movement was started in 1910 in Lwow, when ",Zarzewie",-activist Andrzej Malkowski translated Baden-Powell`s Scouting for Boys into the polish language. Andrzej Malkowski became enthusiast and worked to implement the new movement with his wife Olga Drahonowska-Malkowska. As part of this years Thinking Day celebrations, the polish girls guides and scouts from the North of England met in Leeds to remember all the guides and scouts in the World, commemorate the centenary of the Polish Scouting Movement and also reflect on the 70th anniversary of the mass deportations of Poles during the Second World War to the Soviet Union. The festivities which took place on the 21st of February took place despite the snow and staarted with Holy Mass in the Polish Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of Czestochowa and St. Stanislaus Kostka. Mass was celebrated by the chaplain of the Polish Scouting Movement in England –, Father Jan Wojczynski. Holy Mass was followed by a meeting in the parish hall where the girl guides and scouts took part in a quiz based on the last 100 years of the organisation. During this time, the brownies and cubs played various games. After this, there was a sing along, during which 100 candles were lit symbolically to commemorate every year of the organisations existence. There was also time made to reflect on the 70th anniversary of the mass deportation of Poles during World War Two which for many of us represents how we/ our families settled in this country –, it was important that the young here the experiences of those who were involved in this atrocity of our independence. Thanks were also given to those who have helped the girl guides/ scouts and supported their endeavours, including druhna Barbara Krzyworaczka, who for the last 30 years has led the brownies and scouts in Leeds. The event was a great success and certainly will remain in people’,s thoughts for some time. Thinking Day in Leeds

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Page 14 SCHOOLS NEWS FROM JUST £,299 R.G.R. MEMORIALS COLOUR CATALOGUE QUALITY MEMORIALS AT AFFORDABLE PRICES IN GRANITE, MARBLE &, STONE ALL PRICES INCLUDE DELIVERY &, FIXING Ogee top memorial 2’,6”, high Fully polished Black Granite, Delivered and Fixed for £,399 inc VAT FREE Tel: 0113 282 3888 43 High Ridge Park, Rothwell, Leeds LS26 0NL Bishop visits Barlick School B ishop Arthur received a warm welcome from the children, staff and governors at St Joseph’,s Catholic Primary School in Barnoldswick on a very sunny morning in March. Head boy, Tyler and Head girl, Rebecca showed Bishop Arthur and Father Martin around the school classes and the outside grounds. The children in the five mixed aged classes shared their thoughts about what they liked about school with great honesty. Each class celebrated a special time of prayer with Bishop Arthur, thoughts were focused on the earthquake victims, places of unrest and war, for brave people and for the poor. After the tour of the classes Bishop Arthur experienced the Good Shepherd market led on this occasion by Class 5, Year 5 and Year 6 pupils. A variety of games, colouring competitions and activities were held and buns, popcorn, milkshakes were on sale in the school hall to raise funds for the diocesan Good Shepherd appeal. Bishop Arthur tried many of the activities but unfortunately only managed to win a lolly pop! He shared his popcorn with children waiting to buy at the stalls and watched the skipping competition. Break time provided time for an informal chat with the staff of the school. Bishop Arthur shared some memories of his school days and commented that things were very different in schools now. Before leaving the school, Bishop Arthur expressed his thanks to the Chair of Governors, Mr Jim Bond and Parish Priest, Father Simon Winn, for all the hard work the governors do to support the school’,s work. He praised the work of all the school staff in providing a very caring environment for the children to learn in and growth in faith. Finally, Bishop Arthur complemented the Head boy and Head girl for greeting him so well, he was exceptionally impressed by the relaxed, happy children he had encountered on this visit. O n Saturday 17 April, the School of Cultural Studies at Leeds Metropolitan University will be holding its annual ‘,Leeds in Context’, day- school. Every year, Leeds in Context invites expert speakers to address a general audience on a particular theme in the history of the city and its region. This year’,s theme is ‘,Having Faith in Leeds: Religion and Region Since 1800’,. The speakers will be Edward Royle, Emeritus Professor of History, University of York, Robert Finnigan, Archivist for the Catholic Diocese of Leeds, Seá,n McLaughlin, of the Department of Theology &, Religious Studies, University of Leeds, and Chris Webster, biographer of the architect Robert Chantrell, who was responsible for the rebuilding of Leeds Parish Church. The event is open to the general public and will be held at Leeds Metropolitan University’,s new Broadcasting Place building on Woodhouse Lane. Further information, including registration details, may be found at www.leedsmet.ac.uk/leedsincontext2010, or telephone Andrew Collings on 0113 8123481. ‘,Having Faith in Leeds’,: Leeds in Context, 2010 News from Mount St Mary’,s Catholic High School L eeds Pupils’, Videos to Boost Free School Meals across the Country Budding film makers from Leeds have created five short videos which will be shown across the country to promote free school meals. Pupils from Mount St Mary`s Catholic High School were asked by Education Leeds to make the five one-minute long videos which aim to encourage more eligible children and young people to take advantage of free school meals. In Leeds, around 17,500 children are entitled to a free, healthy, hot meal every day but it is estimated that around 8,000 fail to take up the offer. Recent research, commissioned by Education Leeds, into why families did not take up their entitlement revealed that 17 per cent of pupils felt uncomfortable about free school meals and 21 per cent of parents did not feel comfortable about claiming free school meals –, often based on their own experience at school. In response, Year 10 Mount St Mary`s students who are studying BTEC Media, worked with community television network, The Life Channel, to create the films. Their brief was “,to increase the take-up of free school meals by those children who are entitled to them and to convey the importance of healthy eating”,. The five films are: Lonely Weary Guy: a student discovers that eating a healthy school meal can increase his energy Split Screen: this film shows how eating a healthy meal can improve concentration Funky Fruits: animated fruit and vegetables talk about why some children “,feel weird”, about taking free school meals Identical people: an animation with voice-over illustrating how everyone in the dining room is the same, but it’,s ok to be different. The students also produced a fly-on-the-wall documentary which captures the making of the films, explains the background to the research and shows how the storyboards were selected and developed. Every school in Leeds will receive a DVD supported by lesson plans for teachers which explore pupils’, feelings, relationships, making healthy choices and living in a diverse world. The films were launched in the school library to an audience of students, parents, invited guests and the media. Students, Eamon Droko and Shauna Legge welcomed everyone on behalf of the school: “,Our films include a call to action. We hoped that we have raised awareness of the importance of free school meals and that those children who are entitled to them will eat them. “,Eating healthily is very important to young people like us. We are very proud of what we have achieved and would like to thank everyone for giving us the opportunity to get these key messages across. “,We hope that our films will have a positive influence on the lives of many more young people.”, The films went live on Life Channel screens earlier this month and will directly reach children and young people in more than 1500 schools, colleges and universities across the country –, including 40 in Leeds –, while raising awareness of the issues with parents and carers in more than 2300 UK doctors’, surgeries. For further information contact Roy Flesher, Development Director at Mount St Mary’,s Catholic High School, Ellerby Road, Leeds LS9 8LA. T: 0113-2455248 (General office) M: 07946-745995 e-mail: flesher01@leedslearning.net.

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SCHOOLS NEWS Page 15 T his year sees the 45th anniversary of the close of the Second Vatican Council. This council, held in Rome, discussed a wide range of subjects ranging from the church in the modern world to ecumenism and Christian education. There can be no doubt that we as Catholics today are profoundly influenced by what was said and decreed at the council. However, how many of us actually know what was stated in these documents? Music in church was discussed in the liturgical constitution Sacrosanctum Concillium which was one of the first documents to be completed. Perhaps the most well known quote of the constitution calls for the ‘,full and active participation in the liturgy’, by all the people. The congregation are now invited not just to pray during Mass, but to pray, speak and sing the texts of the Mass itself. One of the best ways of a group of people can achieve this participation is through the gift of music. The constitution states that role of music in the liturgy is to ‘,add delight to prayer, foster a unity of minds, ... [and to] confer a greater solemnity upon the sacred rites.’, The closer the music relates to the liturgical action, the more holy the church considers it to be. Getting into specifics the constitution states that ‘,choirs should be diligently promoted, especially in cathedral churches.’, It goes on to state the importance of musicians and particularly young people being given a liturgical and musical training. Here in the Diocese of Leeds we operate the largest catholic young people’,s choir programme in the UK with over 1500 children each week receiving a liturgical music education and singing in choirs around the diocese, not just in the Cathedral. In discussing what should be sung in church the constitution states that the ‘,treasury of sacred music is to be preserved and fostered with great care’, going on to note that Gregorian chant is especially suited to the Catholic liturgy and therefore should be given pride of place. Other kinds of music (especially polyphony) are not excluded, as long as they correspond to the liturgical action. With regards to the organ the constitution states: ‘,the pipe organ is to be held in high esteem, for it is the traditional musical instrument which adds a wonderful splendour to the Church`s ceremonies and powerfully lifts up man`s mind to God and to higher things.’, The Diocese of Leeds is fortunate to have many fine organs, including and new organ in St Patricks Huddersfield the newly restored Cathedral Organ which the Bishop will bless in May of this year. Concert for Sylvia T alented students from the 4 Leeds Catholic High Schools are busy rehearsing for a special charity concert to be staged at 2.00 pm on Sunday 9 May at Notre Dame Sixth Form College in Leeds. The concert will celebrate and support the work of Sylvia Wright, who has worked with the poor and disabled in Southern India for the last 28 years. Singers, dancers and musicians include the Cardinal Heenan Madrigal Group, Corpus Christi’,s Eyelash Dance Company, Mount St Mary’,s Gospel Singers and St Mary’,s Menston’,s Gentle Breeze Band. The schools, which have enthusiastically agreed to join forces in the concert, are being supported by the Leeds University Medics Choir (Cantores Medicorum), a group of Indian dancers and The Lawnswood Singers, some of whom were at school with Sylvia at Lawnswood Girls’, High School over 50 years ago. Sylvia herself, on a brief visit back to Leeds, will be at the concert to meet them again. This array of talent promises to provide memorable entertainment for what is hoped will be a large community and family audience in the excellent Notre Dame College Hall. Refreshments including afternoon teas with a taste of India will also be served. One of the star performers will be Tessa Koenig, a Year 10 student at St Mary’,s School in Menston, who won the Leeds Schools’, Talent Competition in 2009. Tessa, an acclaimed soul, jazz &, pop singer says, “,I am very excited to be part of such a meaningful event. It is such a worthy cause and it is a real privilege to be invited to perform.", Brenda Hawer, the Conductor of the well-known Lawnswood Singers, was also enthusiastic. “,We are delighted to take part in this concert, especially in view of our previous school connection with Sylvia.”, Sylvia now has a hospital with 220 beds, outpatient clinics treating 75,000 patients a year, two day centres for 80 severely disabled children, a residential school for 225 profoundly deaf children and a recently opened Nursing College. All proceeds from the concert will go to support this work, 97 pence in every £,1 raised by the Trust goes directly to Tamil Nadu where it is desperately needed. “, Sylvia’,s dedication has been an inspiration to everybody both in the UK and India, she has shown over the last 28 years what it is possible to achieve from small beginnings,”, said Tony Allinson, Chairman of the Leeds-based Sylvia Wright Trust, which gives financial support to Sylvia’,s continuing work in India. “,This concert will be a lovely way to support the work that Sylvia is doing in Tamil Nadu and we are most grateful to Notre Dame Sixth Form College and all the performers who are giving their time and talents so generously.”, Tickets for the Concert for Sylvia are £,5 each or £,10 for family groups. All cheques and proceeds to The Sylvia Wright Trust. Box Office: Pat Bailes tel 0113 2037228 or: s.a.e. to 46 Hilton Grange, Bramhope, LS16 9LE or download booking form from : www.sylviawright.org Cathedral Choral Vespers W ednesday February 10th saw the return of the BBC to broadcast again from the Cathedral (the Cathedral girls’, and adult choirs broadcast midnight Mass.) This time it was the turn of the Cathedral boys’, and adult choir to lead the music in a service of Choral Vespers broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. The service included a motet by Brian Easdale set to the beautiful text ‘,where charity and love are, there is God’, and a powerful setting of the text Caritas Christi (Christ’,s love spurs us on to bring the gospel to all) be French composer Jean Langlais. The organ featured prominently after its recent restoration, providing accompaniments to the choral items and in the performance of Olivier Messiaen’,s ‘,Diptyque’, which the composer described as an ‘,Essay on the earthly life and eternal blessedness.’, The service was led by the Cathedral Dean Mgr Moger, the choir being directed by Benjamin saunders, with the organ played by Christopher McElroy and Thomas Leech. Vatican II and Liturgical Music SVP harmonises with Cathedral choirs C lassical choral concert will preview the Cathedral’,s brand-new organ. The St Vincent de Paul Society has teamed up with the three Leeds Cathedral choirs, to present a very special concert in aid of the Leeds Cathedral Choir Support Group and the SVP community support projects in Leeds: St Jude’,s Furniture Store and the St Vincent Support Centre. Under the direction of the Diocesan Director of Music, Benjamin Saunders, and the Assistant Director, Christopher McElroy, the concert on 30th March will have a fascinating programme –, including an exclusive preview of the new Cathedral organ. In addition to the world premiè,re of a piece called ‘,Ave verum corpus’, by the contemporary South African composer Robert Fokkem and a rare performance of ‘,Caritas Christi’, written in 1953 in honour of St Vincent de Paul by the blind French composer Jean Langlais, the concert will also include music by Tomá,s Luis de Victoria, the most significant composer of the Counter-Reformation in Spain. That’,s one world premiè,re, one new organ, two musical directors, three choirs, at least three composers . . . and music spanning five centuries: could such a feast be appropriate in Holy Week? Come along to the Cathedral Church of St Anne at 7.30 pm on Tuesday 30th March to find out. Tickets priced £,10 (£,6 concessions, £,25 family ticket) are available from St Vincent’,s on 0113.248.4126 or St Jude’,s on 0113.245.0800. THE GIFT OF YEARS Growing Old Grace-fully May 6th at the Methodist Centre, Oxford Place Leeds. 10.00am to 4.00pm Speakers Bishop Rt Rev Arthur Roche Prof Graham Mulley Head of the British Geriatric Society Latin Mass Venues - Extraordinary Form -1962 Missal HALIFAX: St Marie’,s, Gibbett Street. Vigil Mass every Saturday. 6.00pm. CASTLEFORD: St Joseph’,s, Pontefract Road. Every Sunday, 3.00pm. BROUGHTON: Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall near Skipton, every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 9.30am. BATLEY: St Mary of the Angels, Cross Bank Rd. Batley. Every First Friday of the month, preceded by confessions, 7.30pm and every fourth Saturday of the month (Vigil) at 3.00pm and as announced. LEEDS: 1.Our Lady of Lourdes, Cardigan Road, Leeds, every last Sunday of the month, 3.00pm 2. Our Lady of Good Counsel, Kentmere Avenue, Leeds every Friday 9.15am. HECKMONDWIKE: Holy Spirit , Bath Road, Every First Sunday of the month, 2.30pm. and every 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Saturday of the month at 11.30am. BRADFORD: St Peter’,s, Leeds Road, every second Sunday of the month, 3.00pm. lmsleeds.blogspot.com for further details. Ordinary Form –, 1969 Missal First Sunday of the Month Cathedral 11am Second Saturday of Month 4pm (Schola Gregoriana)

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Page 16 BATTLE John Battle KCSG F or nearly a quarter of a century I’,ve been engaged with the struggle to get justice for victims of asbestos pollution in Armley in my constituency. A company in Armley, J W Roberts, made asbestos industrial blankets –, linings for boilers –, as asbestos was generally regarded as a protector against fire. It could be manufactured from the mined asbestos deposits and made into fire blankets. The JW Roberts factory opened in the late 1880’,s and continued in production until 1956. The only problem was that from 1922 a local doctor, Dr Grieve, started to notice an abnormal number of lung diseases among his Armley patients who worked at the factory. In 1936 Health and Safety regulations having proved the risk of exposure to asbestos dust insisted that workers with asbestos had protective face masks and gloves on. However, these internal ‘,factory conditions’, did not make any difference to the daily blowing out of asbestos dust through air vents and extractor fans into the surrounding terraced streets. So until the factory closed layers of white dust covered the streets, the doorsteps, window sills and the playground of the local Clock School. While mothers tried to sweep it out children used it to make snowballs. The lethal problem was that if a single fibre got inside a person’,s lung it could over time - usually 30-40 years –, germinate into a deadly cancer –,Mesothelioma for which there is still no treatment. So although the factory had closed in 1956 having been taken over by Turner and Newall in Rochdale and sold on as “,T and N”, to Ferodo, an American company the deadly legacy of the factory’,s dust remained for years in the Armley neighbourhood. Years later identified deaths from Mesothelioma all linked back to clustering in the terraced streets around the old Roberts factory. After a titanic struggle to trace the company and its owners, prove liability and in 1996 win a landmark judgement in court on behalf of a victim to establish responsibility for polluting the neighbourhood the struggle to get the parent company to pay out then began. In brief the American parent put all their “,asbestos liabilities”, into one company and then liquidated it. So having been awarded damages and an amount of compensation by the Court the search for the actual payout switched to the parent company’,s insurers who played very hard to get. More recently on 17 October 2007 insurance companies appealed to the Law Lords to overturn a judgement that insisted that they pay compensation for the existence of pleural plaques in workers lungs caused by exposure to asbestos fibres. We have mounted a tremendous campaign to try and get that decision reversed. Last week the Government announced that the Law Lords decision “,should not be overturned at this time or that an open-ended no fault compensation scheme should be set up”,. The result is the insurers continue to get away with saving millions of pounds in compensation that they would otherwise have had to pay out. At least those in the process of claiming at the time of the Law Lords decision will be granted some compensation. But the Government at least went further in recognising that in the condition Mesothelioma “,patients frequently die very soon after diagnosis leaving little time to trace records and obtain compensation”,. Therefore, a panel of experts including lawyers, insurers and trade unions are examining litigation procedures for Mesothelioma compensation claims and a UK wide ‘,Employers Liability Tracing Office’, is being set up to track liabilities and an Employers Liability Insurance Bureau will be established to provide a compensation fund of last resort for individuals unable to trace employer liability insurance records. This is a good step forward. However, while we look at regulating the banking industry I’,m arguing it is high time to move in on the insurance industry. They may look good in the short term, competing for cheaper premiums and paying out for relatively inexpensive (to them) burglaries and motor bumps –, but when it comes to serious injury and death they play very hard to get. As President Obama does his best to introduce a basic national health service in America perhaps we should now reintroduce a proper and full ‘,National Insurance Scheme’, run by the Government and build on what was originally envisaged in the Beveridge Settlement of 1948. Justice and Insurance SHIRLEY’,S JOURNEY TO LOURDES E arly one Thursday morning a small group of intrepid travellers met at Leeds City Station, to catch a very early train to London. They were on their way to join the Leeds Diocesan Pilgrimage in Lourdes, as part of the Leeds Central Faith and Light Group. This was the culmination of many weeks of planning so that Shirley, a 74- year old lady confined to a wheelchair, could realise her dream. Following discussion with Sheila Ambler, the Director of Hospitality for the Leeds Pilgrimage and Liz Penney, Chief Nurse, it was felt that it would not be possible to take her by plane with the rest of the Leeds Diocesan Pilgrimage. However it was Sylvia’,s dream to go to Lourdes. She is a member of Leeds Central Faith and Light Community. Faith and Light came into existence because Jean Vanier and Marie Helene believed that Lourdes Pilgrimages should be accessible to everyone. So we set about planning an alternative journey for her. After consultation with her carers it was decided the answer was to travel by Eurostar. This meant a 5.30am train from Leeds to catch the 9.30am Eurostar from St. Pancras, a bus trip across Paris and the 2pm TVG train to Lourdes, arriving at 8.30pm. Planning included various risk assessments by the manager of her home, moving and handling training for the carers from Faith and Light and organisation of an electronic bed and hoist so that Shirley could stay in the same hotel as the rest of our community. John Tagney was helpful in recommending an appropriate hotel, (the Padoue which we would all strongly recommend for people with special needs) and in providing transport from Lourdes station to the hotel. We soon realised that another problem would be the journey across Paris. However Faith and Light is an international organisation and a series of e-mails to and from Faith and Light Paris resulted in them arranging for someone to accompany us across Paris, a journey, which involved two bus rides and the organisation of ramps on and off the various trains. We finally arrived and met up with the rest of our community and the Leeds Pilgrimage. The return journey involved an overnight stay in a London hotel. Was it worth the effort and the considerably extra expense to both Shirley and Faith and Light Leeds Central? Anyone who saw Shirley’,s face in Lourdes would know the answer to that question. She loved the processions, cried as we made our way through the new Stations of the Cross, fell asleep in most of the Services but was most at peace at the Grotto. She also really enjoyed the company of her friends and the attention of the young people. ‘,It was lovely being able to go to Lourdes’, says Shirley when asked about her trip. ‘,I wanted to go with Father Lucey, and to pray for Maureen. I met John, a young helper from Notre Dame, who pushed my wheelchair and I liked the Grotto. It was lovely being able to pray there. I didn’,t like having to catch the train at five o’,clock in the morning, but then I met Dennis who helped us get across Paris. I stayed in a lovely hotel with nice food. The ‘,hospital’, bed was better than the one I have at home!! I had a hoist and a shower room to have a shower. I am looking forward to being able to go again.’, 2011 is the 40th Anniversary of Faith and Light and Shirley is looking forward to being able to visit Lourdes again as part of our celebrations. We enjoyed our journey to Lourdes and learnt a lot. Next time, we’,ll probably go via Lille as this does not involve having to travel across Paris, but we have shown that it is possible to travel overland to Lourdes with someone confined to a wheelchair. Shirley’,s determination, spirit and obvious joy reinforces our commitment never to exclude anyone because of their special needs. Thanks are due to all involved in planning this trip for Shirley, but for all involved the only thanks we really needed were the smiles from Shirley herself. Written by Marjorie Parker. Marjorie is a member of the Diocesan Pastoral Commission for People with Disabilities Saying “,Goodbye”, to Shirley’,s Carers LOCAL CHILDREN HELP PAINT THE TOWN YELLOW Children at St Anthony’,s Catholic Primary School, Beeston, helped paint the town yellow for Marie Curie Cancer Care when they held Mini Pots of Care Day. Last autumn, the children were given a mini pot and daffodil bulb, which they planted and cared for throughout the winter. Mini Pots of Care encourages children to think about Marie Curie Nurses, who care for terminally ill patients in their own homes. On 25th February, the children marked the blooming of their daffodils by holding a green and yellow-themed fundraising day when they painted their daffodil pots, as well as wearing green and yellow clothes. So far they have raised over £,700 and are very proud of their efforts. The Mini Pots of Care Day also helped kick off Marie Curie Cancer Care’,s Great Daffodil Appeal 2010. Throughout March, the charity will be calling on the public to make a donation and wear a daffodil to help terminally ill people spend their final days at home, surrounded by their loved ones. Mini Pots of Care is supported by Homebase, which donates the materials for the planting kits, and City Link, which coordinates the distribution and delivery of the kits to schools and groups for free.

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ROME Page 17 Taking The Boat T he official UK launch of Taking the Boat: The Irish in Leeds, 1931-81, a book which examines the Irish experience in Leeds, took place in the in the Davitt Lounge of the Leeds Irish Centre, York Road, on Saturday 6th March at 7pm. The book was written by Brendan McGowan, a native of Killala, Co. Mayo and examines the emigrant experience through the words of thirty-three men and women who left Ireland for post- war Leeds. Brendan states that “,the use of oral history has enabled and empowered these emigrants to write their history from their own perspective and in their own words”,. Brendan also highlights the special connection between Leeds and the West of Ireland: “,The Leeds Irish community today numbers some 25,000 persons, the majority of whom trace their roots to the west of Ireland, and particularly to North Mayo.”, His own grandparents –, Martin and Ellen Ferguson –, emigrated from Attymass, Co. Mayo to Leeds in the 1940s, and ran the popular Regent Hotel (now Maguires) throughout the 1970s. His paternal grandparents settled in Leeds from Co. Donegal. Commenting on the significance of the book, Patrick O’,Sullivan, Head of the Irish Diaspora Research Unit, writes: “,The Irish of Leeds, like the Irish of New York or Boston, now have their book. Brendan McGowan has given the Irish of Leeds their place in the research record –, he has made a significant contribution to the research literature of the Irish Diaspora.”, Taking the Boat is available in softback and limited edition hardback. It will be available from Leeds Irish Centre, and from all good bookstores in Leeds. It may also be acquired directly by contacting the author at takingtheboat@hotmail.com. The publication has received support in sponsorship and kind from the Heritage Council, Mayo County Council, Spear Design, Leeds Irish Health and Homes, and Irish Arts Foundation. At his general audience on Ash Wednesday, Pope Benedict shared some reflections on the ‘,austere Lenten journey’, towards Easter that we are all called to make during this penitential season, a 40 day ‘,spiritual pilgrimage’, that can heal and cleanse us as we travel towards our joyful destination of the Resurrection and new life in Christ. Meanwhile, just a couple of weeks after Easter, the Pope will be setting out on the first of his action-packed pastoral pilgrimages for 2010, a weekend trip to Malta marking the 1950th anniversary of St Paul’,s shipwreck on the Mediterranean island. The first of five scheduled journeys this year, Benedict will spend April 17th and 18th visiting the places connected to the Apostle’,s three month stay on the archipelago. According to the Acts of the Apostles, Paul performed many miracles there, including healing the father of the governor of Malta, Publius, who as a result was converted to Christianity. After being received by the Maltese president, the Pope will visit St Paul’,s grotto in Rabat where the saint took refuge with his companions following the shipwreck in 60AD. An ornate 17th century church, dedicated to the Apostle of the Gentiles, now stands over the grotto where Pope John Paul II stopped to pray during his first visit to the island in 1990. On Sunday, Pope Benedict will concelebrate Mass at the open air ‘,Floriana’, Granaries in the morning, before meeting with young people on the Valletta waterfront and returning to Rome later in the evening. Malta, which secured independence from Britain in 1964, is home to just under half a million people, almost all of whom are Catholics and the Pope will be keen to strengthen that faith in the younger generation to combat the rising tide of secularism sweeping continental Europe. The following month, Benedict XVI will travel to Portugal for a visit that includes the celebration of Mass at the Marian shrine in Fatima, exactly 93 years after the first apparition of Our Lady to the three peasant children, Jacinta, Lucia and Francisco. Scheduled to take place from May 11th to 14th, the pope’,s journey will also be recalling the day back in 1981 when his predecessor, John Paul II, was shot and critically injured by Turkish hit-man Ali Agca during a general audience in St Peter’,s Square. Doctors at Rome’,s Gemelli hospital, who performed a lengthy operation to save the Polish pope’,s life, suggested that his strong physique played an important part in his recovery from the assassination attempt, but John Paul himself was always convinced it was the hand of Our Lady of Fatima who saved his life that day. The following May he made the first of three visits to her shrine to give thanks for this miracle and to place the bullet, which had missed his vital organs and arteries by a few millimetres, in the crown of the Virgin’,s statue. The third pastoral journey on Pope Benedict’,s agenda this year is a three day visit to the divided island of Cyprus and it is there that he is due to present church leaders from across the whole Middle East region with the working document, or Instrumentum laboris, for the synod of bishops that will take place in October here in the Vatican. From June 4th to 6th the Pope will stay in the capital, Nicosia, close to the UN patrolled green line dividing the Greek south from northern part of the island which was occupied by Turkish forces in 1974. The Catholic community in Cyprus traditionally numbers around 7.000, mostly Maronite rite faithful, but that number has almost doubled in recent decades through the presence of migrant workers. On the first day of his visit, the Pope is expected to make a brief visit to Paphos where St Paul stayed during his first missionary journey and where tradition has it he was bound to an ancient stone pillar and whipped for preaching Christianity. Pope Benedict will be warmly welcomed by Greek Cypriot President Demetris Cristofias and by the ecumenically minded Orthodox Archbishop Chrysostomos II, while dialogue and cooperation with Muslims, both on the island and throughout the wider region, is also likely to feature prominently on the programme for this journey. In mid September then, Pope Benedict will make his long awaited visit to Britain which is expected to conclude with the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman. Though he is due to stay at the nuncio’,s residence near London throughout the four day trip, the Pope is planning to travel up to Scotland to meet with Queen Elisabeth at her official residence in Holyrood Palace at the end of Edinburgh’,s Royal Mile. He is also due to fit in a brief visit to Glasgow on the west side of the country, where the majority of Scotland’,s Catholics are located and in London he is scheduled to make a keynote speech to MPs in Westminster Hall, symbolically from the place where Sir Thomas More was sentenced to death in 1535 for remaining ‘,the King’,s good servant but God’,s (servant) first’,. Finally the Vatican announced in March that Benedict XVI will travel to Spain this autumn, visiting Santiago de Compostela on November 6th to inaugurate a year dedicated to St James and then on to Barcelona the following day to consecrate the impressive Sagrada Familia or Holy Family church begun in 1882 by architect Antonio Gaudì, and still not due for completion until 2026. The visit to Santiago de Compostela, the site of St. James` tomb and the destination of thousands of pilgrims who walk the ",camino", or path of the saint to his shrine each year, commemorates the 900th anniversary of the construction of the city`s cathedral. It’,ll mark the Pope’,s second trip to Spain, following his brief visit to Valencia in 2006 for the fifth World Meeting of Families and he’,s also due to return there for World Youth Day celebrations, scheduled to take place in Madrid from August 15th to 21st 2011. Philippa M Hitchen Our Rome Correspondent PAPAL TRAVEL PLANS FORTHCOMING EVENTS at The Briery Retreat Centre 38 Victoria Avenue, Ilkley LS29 9BW Tel, 01943 607287 Email: srscs@aol.com Website:http://www.briery.org.uk Weekend 5th-7th March Themed Retreat Fr. Jim McManus, CSSr “,Healing Spirit: A Spirituality of True Self- Esteem”, Living by the word God speaks to us about ourselves Is the source of true self-esteem. God assures us that we are made in his own image, that we precious in his sight, that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. This is the life- giving word of God to each of us. 19th-26th May Preached Retreat Fr. Daniel O’,Leary “,A Way of Being: A Way of Seeing”, Do not let the weed of your fear grow through your dreams of joy. We can all experience the happiness we long for. 2-9th June and 2-9th July 6 Day Individual Guided Retreats: The Briery Team 7th-14th July Preached Retreat Fr. John Fuellenbach, SVD “,The God image of Jesus and our call to follow him today”,. Jesus was sent to reveal to us who God really is and who He wants to be for us. He summarized his message in two words or phrases. The first one contains his God experience expressed in the word Abba (his human expression of his innermost experience of God). The second one is the phrase Kingdom of God, God’,s dream for the whole of creation. He called disciples whom he sent out to carry out his own mission. 20th-24th September Mon-Friday Retreat for Priests Fr. Tom Lane, C.M. “, I will show you the way to Heaven”, The Curé, de’, Ars, John Mary Vianney, is the patron of all priests in pastoral ministry. When he asked a young boy the way to Ars, the boy obliged. To express his gratitude the Curé, spoke the lovely words that are the theme of the retreat. LEEDS CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST ANNE Great George Street Leeds LS2 8BE FOR African &, Caribbean Mass Date: Sunday 25th April 10 Time: 1:00pm All Are invited Refreshment and Music follow immediately after mass in the Cathedral Hall. For further enquiries please contact Rev. Dr. M.C. Mkpadi on 0113 2959718 or 07884197261

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Page 18 PASTORAL LETTER/BE STILL/DIARY/ENGAGEMENTS First Friday of the Month SINGLE CATHOLICS meet at 8.00pm for mass at our Lady of Lourdes, Leeds. We also a have a program of 4-8 events during the month, walks, meals, cinema and theatre trips, etc. Phone David Easterbrook Chairman LDSC on 0113 2289468 evenings between 6 and 7.30pm only. Membership is open to all single Catholics who are free to marry within the church. Crusade Mass: The crusade Mass and Rosary of Mary Immaculate is held at St Patrick`s Church, Bradford, on the first Saturday of the Month after 12.15pm Mass Second Sunday of Month 2pm Meeting of Bradford Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order at St. Anthony`s Convent, Clayton, Bradford.` `Third Sunday of Month 2.30pm Meeting of Leeds Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order at the Cathedral. Ampleforth Renewal Community: Ampleforth Abbey, meet 1st Sunday each month, at Ampleforth. 11.30am Praise, Speaker, Sharing Groups, Reconciliation, Exposition, Finishing with Mass and Healing at 4.00pm. All enquiries: Seamus McEneaney 01429 426181 Monthly Vocations Mass : Mount St Joseph’,s Chapel 11am First Wednesday of the Month. Calix: An organisation for those recovering from addiction and working the 12 Step Programme of AA so that they can develop and deepen their relationship with Jesus as their Higher Power. Meets on the First Sunday of every month at Corpus Christi Church, Neville Rd. Osmondthorpe. Leeds. Mass at 4.30pm followed by meeting. Contact: Fr. Michael on 01977 510266 Helpers of Gods precious infants, prayer vigils, regular weekly prayer vigils at Marie Stopes Abortuary, 7 Barrack Road.LS7 4AB, next to Nissan car showrooms. Fridays 12-30 to 1-30, and Saturdays 9am-l1am. Other times variable. Further details Pat 0113 2582745 Diary Be Still a few moments for thought and prayer I call it song when already in the soul, burning fervour abounding, the smoothness of eternal praise is taken up and meditation is transformed into song and the mind lingers in honey-flowing melody. From the Fire of Love 1343 by Richard Rolle of Hampole (between Doncaster &, Wakefield) For the monks of the Eastern tradition, praying by repeating a short phrase coordinated with the rhythm of breathing is first and foremost a prayer of the heart, in other words an effort to unify all the energies to allow them to pass through the fire of the heart in the crucible of love. A Taize Brother 2006 Bishops Engagements - March/April Deadline For receipt of material for next edition: April 2nd 2010 Parishes receive their copies: April 18th 2010 Send letters, articles, reports &, pictures: Mr John Grady, Leeds Diocesan Curia, Hinsley Hall, 62 Headingley Lane, Leeds LS6 2BX. Send text as word doc, pictures as jpeg, e-mail to: john.grady@dioceseofleeds.org.uk Tel: 0113 261 8022. Advertising Deadline Please note All paid-for advertising is dealt with by: CathCom, L4 Blois Meadow Business Centre, Steeple Bumpstead, Haverhill, Suffolk, CB9 7BN. To advertise call 020 7112 6710 or email: ads@cathcom.org Your Catholic Post Wednesday 17-24 March CAFOD Visit to El Salvador Saturday 27 March 12 noon Ordination to the Diaconate, Leeds Cathedral 2pm Diocesan Peru Commission, Hinsley Hall Sunday 28 March 10.45am Blessing of Palms and Mass, Leeds Cathedral Wednesday 31 March 7.30pm Chrism Mass, Leeds Cathedral Thursday 1 April 7pm Mass of the Lord’,s Supper, Leeds Cathedral Friday 2 April 3pm Celebration of the Lord’,s Passion, Leeds Cathedral Saturday 3 April 8pm Easter Vigil, Leeds Cathedral Sunday 4 April 11am Solemn Easter Mass, Leeds Cathedral Wednesday 14 April 10am WYEC Council Meeting, Wesley Chapel, Harrogate Thursday 15 April 11am VGs’, Meeting, Bishop’,s House Monday 19 April CBCEW, Spring Meeting, Hinsley Hall 5.30pm Mass, on the occasion of the 5th Anniversary of the Election of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, Leeds Cathedral Tuesday 20 to Friday 23 April CBCEW, Spring Meeting, Hinsley Hall Saturday 24 April 2pm Mass, 350th Anniversaries of St Vincent de Paul &, St Louise de Marillac, Liverpool Cathedral Sunday 25 April 10am Visitation, St Joseph’,s, Barnoldswick Tuesday 27 April 10.30am Diocesan Trustees’, Training Day with the Dioceses of Hallam, Leeds &, Middlesbrough, Hinsley Hall Wednesday 28 April 10am Launch of “,Meeting God in Friend and Stranger”,, Hinsley Hall, 2pm Good Shepherd Service, Leeds Cathedral 7pm Inaugural Trinity Lecture, Leeds Trinity University College, Horsforth, Leeds Thursday 29 April 11am VGs’, Meeting, Bishop’,s House, 6.30pm Confirmation, Leeds Cathedral Friday 30 April 6.30pm Confirmation, St Mary’,s, Selby PASTORAL LETTER SIXTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Today’,s readings challenge us about our lifestyles, our values and our priorities. They encourage us to get the balance right between the spiritual and the material, between what is and what is not important in life. Getting the balance right is difficult, but not impossible. It is something that needs constant reassessment and readjustment. The days of Lent give us that opportunity to reflect on our lifestyles, our values and our priorities. The material that CAFOD has produced this year for the fiftieth anniversary of the first Cafod Family Fast Day is thought provoking and will help all of us to reflect upon our living out of the Gospel. Together with that important commitment, there is another aspect of life closer to home that I wish also to reflect upon today. Lent is a time when we hear a lot about sacrifice: the supreme Sacrifice of Christ on the Hill of Calvary and his call to all his disciples to take up their cross daily and to follow him. The history of our diocese and its parishes contains countless stories of sacrificial living and sacrificial giving on the part of large numbers of people. As we know, these people gave generously of their time, talents, energy and wealth. In many cases they were poor but, like the widow in the gospel, their poverty did not prevent them from giving all that they could afford week after week for the love of the Lord and his Church. Today we are indebted to them for our churches, schools, parish halls, presbyteries –, to name but the obvious. It is with gratitude that we remember the sacrificial giving of these past generations while, also acknowledging the generosity of the present generation on which the Church’,s continued work depends. Every parish relies on the willingness of its parishioners to give generously and sacrificially not only in terms of money, but also in terms of time, talent and energy. The greater our giving in all of these areas, the more vibrant our parishes and our diocesan family will be. Today, I want to say something to you specifically about the importance of the offertory collection. It is a worry to me that for quite some time now our expenditure as a diocese has been greater than our income. In the past we have been able to rely on diocesan investments to shore up expenditure in parishes and schools as well as to provide for the central services that are needed in the diocese to support our parishes. The present economic climate, however, makes this fall-back position unreliable and so we need to address more realistic ways in which to operate in the future. During the course of the last eighteen months every reasonable avenue of cutting back on expenditure has and continues to be explored. There is a limit, however, to what can be achieved by this process alone. Our parish income also needs to be increased in order to maintain our parishes and schools and to provide for our clergy and lay employees - not forgetting our retired priests, who have served us well over their long working lives. It is for this reason that I am asking parishes to make a special plea for increased Sunday offertory giving during the course of the next few weeks. I know that you will give serious consideration to what will be presented to you on that occasion and I respectfully ask you to respond generously and sacrificially as in the past. I am sincerely grateful for all that has been achieved in the past and I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all who in the present help with financial matters throughout the diocese: the parish clergy and their finance committees, those who help in taking the collections, counting, banking, organizing offertory envelopes, looking after GADs, putting on fund raising events and those who keep the accounts in order. There are many others, too, including yourselves. I wish to thank you all for supporting the work of the Church throughout the Diocese week after week. What you give at the Offertory of the Mass is so clearly associated with the self-giving of the Lord. As His body, the Church, it enables us together, parish, schools and diocese, to provide what is necessary for the building up of the Kingdom of God. Thank you for listening to my concern. I know that you will consider this matter seriously and respond to the needs of the overall family to which we belong at home and abroad. May the Good Lord bless you in this as well as in all the good that you do. Devotedly, with my blessing, Arthur Roche Bishop of Leeds Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, You will realize that during the course of the last few years Catholic Care has been making strenuous efforts to secure its rights as an adoption agency in order to continue to supply a beneficial service to the three Dioceses of Hallam, Leeds and Middlesbrough. Since 1963, this agency has assisted placing of some of the most vulnerable children to the care of loving families in our region. However, in 2006 the passing of the Equality Act affected this good work. This new law asks us to operate our adoption agency with disregard to the Church’,s teaching on marriage and family life. It has been designed to widen the pool of people who are able to legally adopt which includes same-sex couples. Despite the fact that Catholic Care has been able to find caring families for a vast number of needy children we are being invited either to stop our adoption work or stop being a Catholic charity altogether. This has had the effect that most Catholic adoption agencies, depending on their circumstances, have either closed or transferred their adoption activity to other charities. Neither of these options is acceptable to us or to the Trustees of Catholic Care. Indeed, our position has been widely supported not only within the Catholic Church but also from very many others outside. Since 2007 Catholic Care has been involved in a legal battle to stay open as a Catholic adoption agency and to operate according to our beliefs in marriage and family life. Precisely because we wish to do everything possible to remain open the next stage in this legal process will take place in the High Court this week. Our position is that it is in the interests of children to continue our work. We are not judging other agencies that accept same sex couples for adoption, but feel strongly that we should not be forced to do so, nor is there a necessity for this to happen. We believe that this is a legally justifiable position to take and that it is a reasonable response to a legitimate end. Our adoption service has been at the heart of the local community for over 100 years. It has been praised and widely appreciated by local authorities and social services, as well as the children who have benefited from this work and the couples who have sought to adopt them. Children have a right to a family life. There are too many children awaiting adoption and Catholic Care has a vital and a special role in helping very vulnerable children by finding loving families for them. If Catholic Care is forced to close its adoption service it is children who will lose an effective and well respected resource in the Yorkshire region. As we write to you today, we wish to thank you for your generous support of Catholic Care and for your shared concern with us over this state of affairs. Above all, we seek your prayers especially as the High Court case begins on Wednesday. May Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, patroness of our three dioceses, intercede for us to the Lord that the good work Catholic Care has undertaken for so long may continue. Devotedly, Bishop of Hallam, Bishop of Leeds , Bishop of Middlesbrough Joint Pastoral Letter from the Bishops of Hallam, Leeds &, Middlesbrough

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NEWS Page 19 For Advertising contact CathCom on 020 7112 6710 A New Lent Begins S t Anne’,s Cathedral, Leeds, was full on Wednesday night February 17th as people young and old from far and wide across the city poured in to start the joyful season of Lent. In his Homily the Bishop told the story of the heart break of a family who had through break down of communications lost contact with their teenaged son and how they searched for him for seven long years. A story, which after the seven terrible years, ended in reunification and reconciliation. This he pointed out is story we find throughout the scriptures, in that it is God that is searching for us and never giving up on us. Arranged for Leeds Catholic Post Buy now to start March, April, May, June or July and mention this advert and get a £,20 discount off any annual policy

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Page 20 Designed and produced by CathCom, L4 Blois Meadow Business Centre, Steeple Bumpstead, Haverhill, Suffolk, CB9 7BN. To advertise call 020 7112 6710 or email: ads@cathcom.org Minister of State joins in T he Inner-City school of Holy Rosary and St Anne’,s, Leeds, had a number of special guests on Friday afternoon, February 26th. Bishop Roche had invited the Children’,s Secretary Ed Balls and Fabian Hamilton MP along to meet the students and staff of the school and to be entertained by them. From September 2009 the school has been taking part in a great experiment, as Sally Egan, Choral director for the Diocese of Leeds explained …,‘,every pupil, from the Nursery right the way up to Year 6, of Holy Rosary and St Anne’,s Catholic Primary School has started on the path to a specialised musical education under my guidance’,. Under the direction of Ben Saunders the Diocese already runs the largest church-driven Programme of choral music for young people in the United Kingdom, maintaining 45 choirs, which meet weekly. The aim of the project at the Holy Rosary and St Anne’,s School is to set up a centre of excellence because it has always been difficult to recruit Cathedral Choristers from the inner-city, with most coming from suburbs on the outskirts of Leeds. Director of Music Ben Saunders decided that if inner- city children were not going to come to him, then he was going to send a Choral Director to them, with the ultimate aim of creating a Cathedral Choir School for the 21st Century. After a short meeting with the Bishop and his advisors Mr Balls was entertained with music and speeches from the young students. He then questioned them about music and what good they got from it. He was impressed with the answers he got promising that: ‘,I will do everything I can to bring about your choir school’,. The visit finished with Mr Balls in one of the workshops with the reception class, where he sang out ‘,Yes I’,ve got my Red Box’,. At the back Fr John Wilson. Left to right Bishop Roche, Ed Balls and Ben Saunders

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