CATHOLIC POST THE NEWSPAPER FOR THE DIOCESE OF LEEDS MARCH 2012 www.dioceseofleeds.org.uk www.catholicpost.org.uk FREE In a Pastoral letter read last weekend in all the Churches in England and Wales the Bishops’, Conference made it quite clear that they have called upon the Catholics to support the Coalition for Marriage online petition. The people were told that the Pastoral Letter was ‘,.. a statement of our Catholic faith about marriage and issued in the light of the forthcoming consultation by the Government on changing the legal definition of marriage. In the light of this letter, you are asked to consider signing the Coalition for Marriage’,s online petition which can be found at ‘,www.C4M.org.uk’,. The petition reads: “,I support the legal definition of marriage which is the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others. I oppose any attempt to redefine it”,. The Archbishops also say that after Easter there will be a more detailed leaflet on the Government’,s consultation itself, for distribution in parishes, to assist Catholics in making their own response to the consultation. Scotland’,s Cardinal Keith O’,Brien had already attacked the Government for the ‘,madness’, of the proposed change in the law. The opposition to the change in the definition of marriage is supported across the Christian Churches, The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, gave a carefully worded speech recently about human rights and religious faith. He warned that some religious communities “,feel that alien cultural standards are somehow being imposed –, particularly in regard to inherited views of marriage and family”,. He added: “,If it is said, for example, that a failure to legalise assisted suicide –, or same- sex marriage –, perpetuates stigma or marginalisation for some people, the reply must be, I believe, that issues like stigma and marginalisation have to be addressed at the level of culture rather than law”,. He also said there is “,anxiety that law is being used proactively to change culture –, one of the chief anxieties of some religious people faced with developments in the application of rights.”, And, he said, while law has a role to play in advancing rights “,this falls short of a legal charter to promote change in institutions, even in language”,. Bishops’, Conference Lays Down A Marker ■, family firm established in 1979 ■, service, repairs and M.O.T’,s ■, full vehicle sourcing service available ■, after care necessary for trouble free motoring ■, member of the GoodGarageScheme.co.uk ■, free collection and delivery from home or work All makes serviced to manufacturer’,s specifications, Manufacturer’,s warranty unaffected and service history maintained. Contact Brendan Grogan on (0113) 248 4441 11 Cowper Road, Leeds www.bgmotors.co.uk Read the Pastoral Letter on Page 18 Welcome to your Catholic Post on Mothering Sunday “,You mothers are natural born teachers. What’,s more, don’,t forget you have the grace of state. But as mothers, the first people you have to teach are your husbands. Because they’,re a bit passive (don’,t worry, they’,re not listening!) and they leave the children to you, as though children were not an important job. Your husbands go off on their own business, and often leave you at home, to raise the children yourselves. That’,s all wrong! Raising children takes both of you!”, (Tabancura, Santiago, Chile, 5 July 1974) What does a Mother really do? (p4) Happy Mothers Day to all mothers and grandmothers!

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Page 2 Leeds Catholic Post First our Scottish Cardinal and now our English &, Welsh Bishops have crossed an important line and come out in opposition to Government proposals as a moral and ethical principle, rather than merely looking at the way legal change may affect Catholics. First we had the compulsion to arrange adoptions by couples of the same sex: now, it is a fundamental change in the definition of marriage, allowing a legal marriage between people of the same sex. A “,profoundly radical step”, the Bishops call such change, moving away from the very nature of marriage. Catholics believe that marriage is a bond between a man and a woman. It is about new life and for life, extending into eternity. There is an inevitability in the way some want now to move from “,civil partnerships”, between couples of the same sex, to “,marriage”, between these couples. Our Bishops define marriage as a call to holiness for husband and wife, with children recognised and loved as the gift of God, with “,fidelity and permanence as the boundaries which create its sacred space.”, Inevitably, the church will be accused by some of homophobia. It is a time to remember those words of the late Cardinal Hume, some years ago. Whilst not approving sexual acts between people of the same sex, he wrote “,In whatever context it arises, and always respecting the appropriate manner of its expression, love between two persons, whether of the same sex or of a different sex, is to be treasured and respected. When two persons love, they experience in a limited manner in this world what will be their unending delight when one with God in the next”,. If people now try to move this love further into the complex sphere of marriage, then neither will survive the test. The Post Says T he Leeds Cathedral was more full than usual for the early evening Mass on Wednesday February 22nd as the Season of Lent was started with the blessing and distribution of Ashes. Bishop Roche with a number of his priests gathered around him was there to celebrate the liturgy and so start the season of renewal as he pointed out in his Homily. Jesus came to bring life, he said and bring it in abundance. Lent is the time of New Life, a journey towards the light of Easter, it is a time when he comes to meet us, Lent is a time of Healing and renewal, - a time when we are to turn away from sin to Christ –, so that we can be more fully like him. A Time Of Healing W henever a parish needs to raise substantial funds for the restoration of its church and hall, it can be a daunting prospect. However, at St. Mary and St. Michael’,s, Settle, this task turned into a very successful Italian Evening , where parishioners were treated to good food, good company, fun and games. With some real Italians in the congregation, authentic cuisine was called for, but parishioners rose to the challenge and were given the thumbs-up by the experts. As for entertainment, some thinking outside the box was needed: in stepped Mgr. Anthony Boylan with a quiz on Italy, and ‘,Stand-up’, bingo, for which he called out the numbers in perfect Italian, thus giving parishioners a taste of the language. All this, plus a raffle was conducted to the strains of everything Italian, from Andrea Bocelli to Perry Como! All who attended, thoroughly enjoyed the evening and are already asking what the next event will be. Buon Appetitao P utative pilgrims who will travel to Croagh Patrick and Lourdes later this year launched their annual programme at a Mass celebrated in school recently. Year 9 students will travel to Croagh Patrick at Easter where they carry their pilgrimage cross to the top of the holy mountain The older (Year 10) students will journey to Lourdes in the south of France during May. There they will act as nurses and helpers to the sick pilgrims for whom Lourdes is a special place. At Mass this week the pilgrims, with the Lourdes pilgrims wearing their coveted yellow jerseys for the first time, carried lighted candles into the school chapel where they lit the candles of family and friends who were present as a sign of sharing care and concern. The Mass was celebrated by Fr Mike, the school Chaplain assisted by Fr Andrew, parish priest at St Stephen’,s Skipton and Fr Jack Kennedy. The evening also saw the first use of the new pilgrim banner, recently made as a gift to the school. Patrick Moran, Pilgrimage Director said, “,The banner is almost like the army standards of old. It serves as a rallying station for us in the crowds, especially at Lourdes where it as always busy. There is also a deep sense of pride having a worthy focal point to walk behind in the processions The dismissal at the end included the reflection: “,I am a link in a chain…,”, from Blessed John Henry Newman. Patrick Moran, explained, “,Most of these youngsters are making a serious pilgrimage for the first time. Anything that we can do that will help them to grasp the enormity of what they are involved in –, we will do. And not only for the pilgrimages, life itself is about playing ones part, however small, and realising the, often completely unknown, effect it cvan have on other people.”, “,I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. God has not created me for naught. I shall do good, I shall do His work.“, Pilgrim Mass at Holy Family School, Keighley Mgr Summersgill reads the gospel

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W hen the Second Vatican Council opened in October 1962 George Patrick Dwyer was fifty-four years of age. He had been a priest for three decades and the Bishop of Leeds since 1957. Before that he had been the Superior of the Catholic Missionary Society. His roots were in the North of England, albeit across the Pennines in Manchester where he was born and went to school. He trained for the priesthood in Rome at the Venerable English College and went on to study for a doctorate in theology at the Gregorian University. After returning to England he obtained a first-class honours degree at Cambridge. He enjoyed the literature and culture of continental Europe and was fluent in both French and Italian. His pastoral experience allied to his intellectual gifts made him well-qualified to play his part in the momentous event that was Vatican II. Before setting off for Rome to attend the First Session Bishop Dwyer wrote a Pastoral Letter which reveals something of his attitude towards the Council at that point. Its aim, he said, would be to help Catholics to know God better and to love him more, to be apostles and missionaries of the Faith, and to increase their charity towards all people, but especially to other Christians, ‘,our Separated Brethren’,. ‘,The Council,’, he said, ‘,will not simply be a discussion among the bishops. It will be a holy thing’,. By December 1963, at the close of the Second Session, a note of impatience creeps into Bishop Dwyer’,s observations on the Council –, hardly a surprise to anyone familiar with his temperament. ‘,Its course is not easy’, he wrote, and he opined that there were too many bishops present, each with a right to speak, to make a real debate possible. He was of the view that much more work would have to be delegated to committees if the Council was to complete its agenda ‘,within a reasonable time’,. He himself was elected to the Commission on the Rule of Dioceses. When he died in 1987 his obituary in The Times recorded that ‘,his personal contribution to the Council –, in debate, in commission work and in the corridors of St Peter’,s –, was considerable’,. As ever with Bishop Dwyer a somewhat bluff, and at times irascible, exterior concealed a sharp mind, and a warm heart utterly devoted to God’,s work. In the event there would be four sessions of the Council, which closed at the end of 1965. Pope John XXIII died in June 1963 and Pope Paul VI oversaw the work of all but the First Session. According to Bishop Dwyer four themes stood out from the initial phase of the Council: liturgical change involving a greater use of English rather than Latin and more participation in the Mass by the faithful , the need for the laity ‘,to be apostles’, and to take a more active part in the Church’,s work, putting the age-old teachings of the Faith into modern terms, so as to explain it and make it known, and an appreciation of the good there is in the way of life of other Christians and of all people, ‘,whether Christian or Pagan’,. He was enthusiastic about all these developments but at the same time he felt bound to issue a warning. ‘,Praise what is new’,, he said, ‘,if it is worthy of praise. But never forget the reverence we owe to the ancient customs and ways of the Church’,. In addition he emphasised that the Church’,s teaching on Faith and Morals would not change, and here he explicitly mentioned the issue of contraception. As he put it, ‘,The Church can change its own laws, such as the rules of fasting and abstinence. But neither the Council nor the Pope can change God’,s laws’,. At the beginning of Lent in 1965 Bishop Dwyer issued a Pastoral Letter entitled ‘,Weathering the Storm’,. In it he sets out his views on Church and society ‘,in a time of great confusion, when everything is changing’,. His starting point was that ‘,ways of life, standards of conduct, political, social and religious ideas’, all seemed to be in the melting-pot. The result was that many people were disturbed, perplexed and anxious, the more so because ‘,the upheaval seems to have affected even the Church’,. After three sessions of the Council, Catholics were seeing the liturgy changing almost month by month, they were being asked to fundamentally readjust their views about other Christians, and they were arguing amongst themselves. Too often, said Bishop Dwyer, such arguments were being conducted ‘,with bitterness and violent words’,. As to why all this was happening, he said it was ‘,because the Church is bold and courageous.’, Everything in the world was changing but the Church did not hide away from this: ‘,She dares to walk in the centre of the storm to see how best she can guide those who are tossed about on the waves. The Church can never change her essential teaching. But she is ready to see how that doctrine can be applied and expressed in new ways. This needs boldness, it means taking risks. If our long-standing habits and ways of thought are being disturbed we must understand that this is because the Church is in the eye of the storm and taking the lead’,. Although the Council was still in progress Bishop Dwyer argued that the rewards of change were already visible. He acknowledged that the Mass might have lost something of its ‘,old tranquillity’, but the liturgical reforms currently underway meant that people were deriving new insights from the scriptures and prayers and their understanding of the Mass was being enriched and deepened. He also addressed the question of ecumenism. In his opinion, there was now a ‘,sense of brotherhood and family affection’, towards other Christians. He had found it ‘,deeply touching’, during the recent week for Christian Unity to share in the common prayers that Catholics and others had said together. With regards to arguments within the Church he urged people to start from a first principle: that the person who holds different ideas, be they new or old, ‘,is in good faith and is trying to see the ancient unchanging truth in its true light’,. All would be well if people adhered to the fundamental virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. Holding fast to these gave him confidence that ‘,when the storm dies down’, the old and the new would be reconciled, ‘,full of promise of new light’,. Written in February 1965 this Pastoral Letter proved to be Bishop Dwyer’,s last report to the Leeds diocese about the course of the Second Vatican Council. Eight months later he was appointed Archbishop of Birmingham and it fell to his successor, Bishop Wheeler, to implement the Council in practical ways. Between 1962 and 1965 his role in Leeds had been that of a teacher, and rightly so. He used his public pronouncements, and his gift for clear thought and expression, to inform and educate the people of the diocese about this ‘,holy thing’, that was to transform so many aspects of the Catholic Church over the coming years. He had been formed by a pre- Vatican II Church but he never doubted that the Council had successfully ‘,read the signs of the times’,. While he had sympathy for those in the Church who found change difficult to cope with, he was not for turning back the clock. The late Cardinal Hume once described George Patrick Dwyer as a great bishop from whom he had learned much. Half a century ago the Diocese of Leeds was fortunate to share the same experience. Leeds Catholic Post Page 3 Vatican II Fifty Years On This October it will be 50 years since the opening of Vatican II –, over the months from now until the end of the Year there will be an article reflecting on the Council. These articles are not offered as deep reflections on the Council or the Documents from it, rather they are written from the point of view of those who experienced the Council in its time –, some are from people who were there, some are about people who were there –, some are by people who were the first to try and put into action the documents as they came out. They are all from a personal point of view and try to capture at least a little of that ‘,freshness of the Spirit’, as it blew through a church thrust into a modern World trying to find a Rock to hold fast to. By Robert Finnigan, Diocesan Archivist Bishop Dwyer, Vatican II and a ‘,Holy Thing’, T he Catholic bishops of Ireland offer an invitation to everyone to support in prayer the International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin, from the 10th to the 17th June, 2012. Fr Peter Kravos is the diocesan delegate, and he is available to assist anyone who wishes to also attend the Congress. He can be contacted at: University Catholic Chaplaincy, 5 St Mark’,s Avenue, Leeds LS2 9BN. Tel. 0113 243 8263. Email: peter.kravos@dioceseofleeds.org.uk More information &, registration is on www.iec2012.ie . In order to support the Church in Ireland with this significant spiritual event, various opportunities for Eucharistic Adoration will be on offer throughout the diocese in parishes and Religious communities, especially between Easter &, the Feast of Corpus Christi, when the conference begins. A full list will be published and updated on the diocesan website: www.dioceseofleeds.org.uk. There will be Mass at 7.30pm on Friday 8th June at St Austin`s church, Wakefield, commencing the traditional ",40 Hours", of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament - the very weekend when the congress begins. Also, to celebrate the end of the Congress the Diocesan Corpus Christi procession will take place at Hinsley Hall, Leeds on Sunday 24th June from 2.00pm. INTERNATIONAL EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS, DUBLIN

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Page 4 Leeds Catholic Post T he quote on the front page is a sharp reminder to all of us of the importance of fathers. Is this a little out of place on Mothers Day? It was spoken to particular people in a particular place and time and is clearly not universally true (more on that on Fathers Day). For me the subtext of the quote is as important as any overt claims being made about who should be doing what. That subtext is the assumption that being a mother is natural, easy and obvious. For some mothers it may be. For others it is a rollercoaster of hormones, sleeplessness and stress. On this one day in the year that we celebrate mothers with fine words and fancy flowers, I want to share a notion that challenges us to look again at what it is mothers really do. And that is that mothering is a hugely demanding and misunderstood vocation because, like most family relationships it is hidden and there is very little positive language to describe what mothers really do. Even mothers find it difficult to name what it is, exactly, that they do all day and for years on end.. Why is this important? Mothering is a crucial yet can be an isolating role. To be good enough at what it is they do mothers do need to feel supported, valued and recognised. Without language and understanding this support and recognition is often in short supply. With the best will in the world if even mothers find it difficult to know why what they do matters, the rest of the world, and husbands and fathers, will also struggle to understand and value it. As a new mother I experienced this absence of value even among other new mothers. I found that they looked askance at you if you think your child is important enough to be with until they are old enough to go to school. However long the child took to arrive, the almost immediate reaction of some of those I met was one of ‘,get me out of here!’, I soon discovered why going out to work was so important and desirable for mothers. It was a place of rest and safety. You could go to the toilet when you needed to and, unmolested by a demanding child. You could have a conversation with someone who understood your language and answered you and made you feel good about yourself and who did not expect you to play the same game or read the same story over and over and over again and then cry for biscuits when they should be eating real food. Last week I found a book that put the whole thing into perspective. Called ‘,What Mothers Do, especially when it looks like nothing’, the book by Naomi Stadler is largely based on the words of mothers themselves as they talk about their lives. Stadler immediately identifies the absence of positive language as part of the problem. Mothers were at a loss to explain what they actually had spent their day doing when by tea time they were still not dressed, the sink was full of breakfast dishes and the baby was crying for a feed and needed their nappy changing all at the same time. This poverty of language is caused partly by the privacy of what happens in those intense first hours, days and then the almost interminably long weeks, months and early years of a child’,s life. Because only her intimates see what she does and because it looks utterly boring (like watching paint dry) and is not economically productive, it has not been appreciated or as extensively and positively studied as what is done in the workplace. Yet the consequences of what a mother does and does not do in the privacy and strain of those apparently uneventful early weeks, months and years are crucial. We usually only hear about mothers, fathers and family life when things go wrong, as in the riots last summer. And then the language of blame abounds. For the most part, mothers (and children) survive and thrive. They do a good enough job (brilliant in the circumstances) but the attention to it and the language that would identify it and celebrate it positively is too simple or technically remote to be useful while they are doing it. For instance we have to borrow from psychology to talk about ‘,bonding’, and ‘,attachment’,, or we use judgemental and over idealised descriptors like loving, patient, kind rather that descriptors of what’,s actually happening. No mother wants to be patronised or psychologised. She needs to know how to get through the next 12 or 24 hours and this privacy may be essential to the process. Jesus spent years hidden at home, apparently, after his first foray into the work of his Father aged twelve. But it does reinforce the absence of language by leaving the co-creative work of mothers, and fathers all over the world and all through history, including Mary and Joseph, largely unexamined and therefore misunderstood and uncelebrated. Neuroscience is now identifying the essential brain development that all the long and lonely hours of holding, feeding, washing, attending to, fosters. But this just creates a demand for better language. What is it that mothers do all day and how do we support and celebrate that not just with fine words on Mothering Sunday but practically in our policies and structures? In short, mothers give themselves. Ouch, no one said it would hurt! Mothering is a unique and also wholly universal example of charity in the world, and it is happening right under our very noses every day. Who welcomes the stranger into their lives and into their homes however uncomfortable or unexpected or frustrating? Who creates a home for the infant whether in the temporary shelter of a bottom drawer in their own parents’, crowded house, or a manger behind a crowded inn? Who feeds the hungry baby often having to eke out a meagre budget or go without themselves? who clothes the naked baby? who is with the child in the prison of illness, immaturity and the torrents of hormones and dreams and dissipations of youth? You know it! You see it, you have done it. And mothers, and fathers, do this whether they are mothers, and fathers, by birth or by adoption. This might sound like an idealised counsel of perfection but it is a description of what mothers do in one form or another every day all over the world. The food might be breast milk or formula, the clothes dumpster or designer, the prison visits nights spent with a feverish child or a youngster struggling with identity, peer pressure or unemployment. Whether we are rich or poor being a mother is not easy and it is no surprise to me when mothers feel that they just cannot do it, especially when they are unsupported or alone. So if mothers raise the society and church or the future, who meets the needs of mothers? That is the real question for us today and every day. It is an urgent question because the future of humanity depends on how we answer it. HAPPY MOTHERS DAY! For more on mothers and mothering including Naomi Stedler’,s ‘,What mother do, especially when it looks like nothing’, see the FLM Library at Hinsley Hall, Library Catalogue is available at www.flm.org.uk ‘,Contact’, then select ‘,Resources Library’,. What Do Mothers Do? By Breda Theakston FLM Coordinator Studying Family Life Ministry T he Youth and Family Life Ministries module completed its second presentation as an option on the Diocesan CCRS (Catholic Certificate in Religious Studies) course. Pictured here is the group on the last night of the course with Anna Cowell, Youth Officer, (front, third from left). The students represent a variety of life and work experiences including school chaplaincy, youth work, parents, grandparents, parish family life ministers. This module is unique in its ability to knit two very different but complementary ministries into the larger picture of the ministry of the whole Church. A key image used is `Christ Discovered in the Temple` (Walker Gallery Liverpool). It represents a moment in the life of the Holy Family where parents and youth are confronted with the reality of each other. This medieval painting brilliantly captures the tensions of their different responsibilities as they each try to respond faithfully to their particular call. In this case Jesus` need to serve the Father, and Mary and Joseph`s need to ensure his upbringing in faith. Not many parents have to confront a 12 year old who goes missing in the capital city for three days, but most family people will recognise in this scene, as imagined by Simone Martine (b. Siena 1280/85 - d. Avignon 1344), something of the reality of their own experience as parents negotiate the tricky terrain of keeping their young safe and letting them follow their own calling, and the young strain to hear that call in the cacophony of modern life and find a way to honour it. Youth and Family Life Ministries take the perspectives and address the needs of each of these family members. The challenge in our very short module (10 hours over five weeks) is to show how that can be done in the reality of modern family life and youth culture, and to introduce church teaching and documents that underpin each ministry. We all enjoyed our time together and the feedback was universally positive ‘,I was surprised at how much I learnt!’, one participant said. At the end of the final session certificates were presented to those for whom the module was an interest rather than leading to the full CCRS. YOUTH MINISTRY contact Anna Cowell at anna.cowell@dioceseofleeds.org.uk FAMILY LIFE MINISTRY contact Breda Theakston at flm@flm.org.uk CCRS contact Linda Pennington at linda.pennington@dioceseofleeds.org.uk VOCATIONS contact Celia Braythorne celia.braythorne@dioceseofleeds.org.uk or Mgr Paul Grogan a dolvocs@dioceseofleeds

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Leeds Catholic Post Page 5 The good old Guardian, not always the church’,s best friend, is revving up its campaign aimed at church schools. “,‘,England`s faith state schools are failing to mirror their local communities by shunning the poorest pupils in their area,’, analysis by the Guardian of the latest government figures shows,”, it moans. “,The Roman Catholic church, which has repeatedly insisted its schools are inclusive, comes out particularly badly”, it cries. Two minutes thought would supply the answer, but not for the Grauniad (sic) which cannot see the wood for the agenda. The catchment for a Catholic school is the Catholic community, not its immediate surroundings. Catholic schools are not neighbourhood schools. At present, they are there to provide an education for Catholics, drawn from a much wider area: so any compari- son between the local area in which the school happens to stand and the catchment for the school- which may even cross Education Authority borders- is a total nonsense. Still, a bit of Catholic bashing always makes a good story. Richard Rohr, the American Franciscan often writes a good story. One of his latest blogs may show his frustration with the cold war going on over the Obama Government’,s Health Scheme between that Government and the church. Because of the way things work in the US, Abbeys (for example) who are also employers will find themselves obliged to provide medical insurance covering contraceptive advice, whilst Catholic Hospitals (which they have in abundance) will be obliged to provide that advice. This is not an unknown sit- uation in this country, too but we are, most of us, at least agreed that there should be a health service. In the US there is not this consensus and so diffi- cult ethical issues such as this can find themselves grist to the political mill. Why, Richard Rohr asks, do I mistrust so much Christian “,conservativism”,? I wondered if I could include a few extracts from what he says- but I can’,t: so here is most of it…,.. -It usually wants to “,conserve”, a very recent version of history or Christianity (theirs!) -It is almost always tied to money and power, which seems very unlike Jesus. - It loves the status quo too much, which is really to love one’,s own comfort, security, and status. - It seldom loves the poor or the outsider, which Jesus consistently loved. -It invariably makes “,pevlic issues”, the test case instead of what Jesus consistently emphasized: power, arrogance, pride, superiority, delusion, and hypocrisy. Most of all, he concludes, because conservatives tend to be unable to smile, and can very seldom laugh at their own limitations, biases, or blindnesses. It takes way too much energy to protect the whole and total truth and there is so little joy or freedom left for the rest of life…, and to be fair, many progressives and liber- als are just as bad! Benchmark Sidelines News and notices first, opinions later- and this month there is plenty of news! Snow drops are already old hat, crocuses are blooming, and doughty daffodils are just about to break into flower as I write this- so it is spring- and that means Lent and Easter. Music for this liturgical season was the topic for last month`s WYCMN* (all initials explained below) repertoire sharing afternoon at Sts Peter &, Paul`s, Wakefield, and we had a largely successful session (see below!) We sang and played a variety of material, written by Bob Hurd, Bernadette Farrell and Marty Haugen, among others. (Details available on the website.) Special thanks to Christine Szczepanski and Karen Cousins, our hosts, and to Joe Burns, for preparing much of the music. It seems odd to be thinking about the summer already, but if you are keen to attend one or other (or both!) of the NNPM* or SSG* events in July, I urge you to book early. The NNPM National Conference, held every two years, will be in the quiet beauty of Worth Abbey, West Sussex, from Friday 20th to Sunday 22nd July. The theme is the Psalms - “,a subject which can unite members of all denominations and especially musicians, who bring these ancient sung prayers to life.”, SSG`s 2012 Summer School ‘,Behold, I stand at the door’, begins the next day, closer to home, at Sneaton Castle, Whitby, from Monday 23rd to Friday 27th July. “,Standing with Christ, looking out through the open door of faith (Acts 14.27), are we ready to invite those outside to come and meet Him, and join us in the journey that lasts a lifetime?”, I notice on the Roman Missal website that “,excerpts from the [new translation of the] Missal are offered to assist good celebration. They are intended for printing and insertion in a worthy folder for use in the liturgy. Two of the excerpts are provided for use outside the church building on Palm Sunday and at the Easter Vigil. Also provided is the Exsultet, in both its longer and shorter forms, so that Deacons, Priests or cantors may prepare.”, God, we are told, moves in mysterious ways, and so what am I to make of the fact that at the recent network afternoon, my guitar was struck down and irreparably shattered? Prosaic people may just suggest I should not have knocked it over, but perhaps it was a punishment in advance because this extract from the Easter Vigil Service of Light lifts my soul.... “,Purify our minds by this Easter celebration and bring us one day to the feast of eternal light”, (1973) but this revised one does not... “,grant that, by these paschal celebrations, we may be so inflamed with heavenly desires, that with minds made pure we may attain festivities of unending splendour ”, (2010) By the way, following on from last month, the Decani hymnbook “,Laudate”, has now received its Imprimatur and Nihil Obstat (the first to do so) and will be out in its revised “,new missal”, guise soon, combining the original book with its recent supplement. Most hymn numbers remain the same but there are new and revised Mass parts- retaining the best of the old with the best of the new? If you`d like to add your name to the email list to receive information about WYCM Network events, I`d be happy to hear from you. West Yorkshire Church Music Network: http://www.westyorkshirechurchmusic.org.uk/ National Network of Pastoral Musicians: http://nnpm.org/ Society of Saint Gregory: http://www.ssg.org.uk/ Roman Missal: http://www.romanmissal.org.uk/Home/Texts/Holy-Week-in-the-Missal Musical Notes by Tim Devereux WAYS OF PRAYING Two “,Ways of Praying”, days were held recently in the chaplaincy at Leeds Trinity University College. Friday the 3rd February was for school staff while Saturday 4th February was for catechists and others involved in parish ministries. The college chaplaincy provided a wonderful and peaceful venue for these two days of prayer and learning about prayer. Mgr Paul Grogan welcomed the group to the day at the chaplaincy The participants were able to explore different aspects of prayer in a number of workshops: Via Lucis –, ‘,The Way of Light’, (The Stations of the Resurrection) led by Carol Daley, Praying with Blessed Dominic Barberi, Ignatius Spencer and Elizabeth Prout, an introduction to Passionist Spirituality through three great figures of 19th century England led by Sr Anne Hammersley, Spiritual Journaling led by Mgr John Wilson and Praying with Blessed John Henry Newman led by Linda Pennington. Around the chapel were four prayer stations created by Ann Hemsworth &, Carol Daley. People were invited to visit each prayer station and engage with the images, readings and activities which they found there. The feedback from the participants was very positive and there are plans for future days of prayer. EASTER TREASURE Easter Treasure –, an ecumenical opportunity to explore resources for Children’,s Workers and leaders of Children’,s Liturgy of the Word during Holy Week &, Easter. In February over sixty people from the Anglican, Methodist, United Reformed and Catholic traditions participated in this ecumenical event which was held twice in the Yorkshire area at St Andrew’,s URC in Roundhay and Holy Trinity in Ripon. The event was organised by Anne Carter &, Graham Richards from the Anglican Church, Viv Morrissey of the Methodist Church, Mick Maskell of the United Reformed Church and Linda Pennington from the Catholic Diocese of Leeds. The aim of each evening was to reflect upon the meaning of Holy Week &, Easter, to experience different themes and activities and to explore resources for working with children. Each evening opened with a prayerful reflection upon the meaning of Holy Week which was followed by three workshops: Fluid Worship, Online Resources and Eggs. Each workshop offered practical experiences (including cooking and tasting), suggestions and handouts and the feedback from participants was very positive. The evening closed with a resurrection reflection and everyone collected a pack of resource ideas on their way home. Previous “,treasure”, evenings have explored the themes of Come &, Share the Treasure (The Parable of the Sower), Advent Treasure, Saintly Treasure, Earthly Treasure, Story Treasure and Treasuring Children’,s Prayer. The feedback from Easter Treasure was for similar training events and planning has already begun –, watch this space…,. FUTURE COURSES, EVENTS &, TRAINING There are many courses and events organised by the Office for Evangelisation and Catechesis throughout the year which help to support formation in faith and training for catechists, leaders of Children’,s Liturgy of the Word and other parish ministries. Check this page in future editions and also the website: www.dioceseofleeds.org.uk/evangelisation - see Forthcoming Events RCIA DAY –, Saturday May 12 The event will be held at The Holy Name Parish Centre, 52, Otley Old Road, Leeds, LS16 6HW. Tea &, Coffee from 9.30 am - Beginning at 10.00 am –, until 4.00 pm. This is an opportunity for catechists and RCIA teams to explore ways of encouraging Catechumens and Candidates to deepen their faith during the Period of the Catechumenate. This is the main period of formation for those on the Journey in Faith. The day includes workshops, exploration of available materials and experience of relevant liturgies during this period. Please bring a packed Lunch. £,10.00 per person or £, 30.00 per parish group Further details of all courses and bookings can be made with Mrs Janine Garnett at Hinsley Hall, 62 Headingley Lane, Leeds, LS6 2BX, Tel: 0113 261 8040, Email: janine.garnett@dioceseofleeds.org.uk OFFICE FOR EVANGELISATION &, CATECHESIS S t John Fisher Catholic High School, Harrogate is celebrating its achievement of the International School Award. The highly regarded status, awarded by the British Council, recognises a global dimension in the learning experience of all St John Fisher students through an outstanding programme of activities and opportunities that aim to educate about different cultures and countries. Developed over 3 years by International Coordinator Helen Keelan-Edwards, the school’,s international work includes special events within school, and link exchanges with schools in Europe and beyond. The award also recognises the broad range of opportunities available to students through the school’,s extensive programme of international visits and trips. Within the school, international projects involve schemes such as ‘,World Toilet Day’,, which focuses on global access to basic sanitation, ‘,International Day’, in which students can try activities such as Chinese ribbon dancing, karate and Bollywood dancing, and ‘,International Environment Week’,, during which pupils learn about global climate change issues in lessons. Internationally, links have been made with European schools through the ‘,Comenius Project’,, a scheme run by the British Council. Students from St John Fisher have had the opportunity to visit Cyprus, Bulgaria, Hungary and Italy as part of the project. Students from all schools involved are invited to a reciprocal event, which will be hosted at St John Fisher in April 2012. International links have also been developed with a school in Ghana. In 2010, 26 students and 3 staff spent three weeks in Ghana helping the Ghanaian students and staff to set up a new school. In 2012 21 students will return to the school to continue the good work started and help maintain the wonderful friendships that have been established by both staff and pupils. Mrs Keelan-Edwards explains, “,The school is incredibly proud of our students’, positive attitude to learning about other cultures. We are delighted that our international work has been officially recognised. We believe celebrating difference and diversity encourages personal development and enhances academic performance.”, St John Fisher scoops International Award

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Page 6 Leeds Catholic Post 25 Deacons, Students and Wives met for a Day of Recollection at Myddleton Grange at the beginning of March. Fr Simon Lodge led the group in reflecting on some serious Lenten issues, starting with that old problem- that Repentance - or better, metanoia- is not just for Lent but for life. The service of deacons is not a seasonal thing, but a constant search for peace and the Lord’,s way of reconciliation in our parishes and communities, and the world in general. The group were able to share Mass and the Office together during the day. The next Diocesan Deacons’, meeting will be a practical or “,business”, session in late June. +++ Holy Week and Easter are rapidly approaching and there are liturgical changes! A lot of these seem to be in the category of “,we do that already”, and others which now give the Deacon an honourable mention in the rubrics when he didn’,t get one before. Some of the important parts- such as the Deacon’,s singing of the Exsultet: “,The Deacon, after incensing the book and the candle, proclaims the Easter Proclamation (Exsultet) at the ambo…,.”, are highlighted on http://www.romanmissal.org.uk/Home/Te xts/Holy-Week-in-the-Missal +++ A US Catholic Newspaper had an interesting piece recently which told the story of a Deacon who upped and moved from a good job for 300 miles to look after a priestless parish. Now, ten years later, he is about to retire: he has been looking after up to five parishes and travelling around 300 miles on Sundays to lead Services when no visiting priest is available in remote townships, with no other paid staff. He looks after the various parish programmes and ministries , and the daily pastoral needs of the people. Here, we do not have these problems of distance, but we do have the same problems of manpower. Who knows where deacons are being led, and for what purpose…,.. +++ Bishops and their deacons have a special and close relationship and so we should publicly express our very best wishes to Bishop Arthur on the completion of his long and gruelling stint as Chairman of ICEL- the International Commission on English in the Liturgy. It is during his watch that the new Missal translation has come to fruition. The Most Revd Arthur Serratelli, Bishop of Paterson, New Jersey, takes over. Deacons Diary Passover T he Interfaith column in the December issue of Catholic Post highlighted how the Jewish people ensure that their understanding of tradition and custom is passed on from one generation to the next. The Passover is the spring festival of the Jewish faith and occurs about Easter-time. The Seder Meal, the central feature of the Passover celebrations, is celebrated at home, en-famille, rather than at the synagogue. Christian scholars are in dispute about whether The Last Supper was actually the Seder Meal at which Jesus broke with tradition. The balance of scholarship at present suggests that it was not. We can say with certainty that the events of Holy Week and Easter took place about Passover time. It is enlightening, however, to examine the Seder Meal as there is a very rich symbolism which does throw light onto the notion of a thanksgiving meal. Many Christian communities will celebrate a demonstration Seder Meal as a part of the later Lenten activities. The Seder should stand alone. It is a serious disrespect to link a Seder Meal to a celebration of Mass, implying that the Jewish religion is merely unreconstructed Christianity. A meeting of Christians may want to “,top and tail”, the event with explicit Christian prayer, that is right and good choice. However, the Seder itself should be as authentic as possible and not be “,baptised”, in any way. In preparation for the Seder the home will have been thoroughly cleaned from top to bottom, not just because it is a family gathering but because all the leaven (yeast) has to be removed from the house. There must be no possibility of any lurking in forgotten corners. The last portion of yeast may lie on the corner of the Seder Table to be ceremonially swept up and thrown out of the door Although it is a ritual meal it is also festive. It is a time of joy not stern adherence to the letter of the law. What follows are the bare bones of the Seder, the whole celebration can last several hours. Out of respect for the Jewish custom of never using the name of God directly the convention of using G*d in the translation has been followed The table will have been prepared with several key items some of which are explained as they arise The festival candles are lit O Lord our G*d, You are king of all. You have blessed us with Passover and commanded us to light the festival candles The First Toast O Lord our G*d, you are king of all, you chose us and made us holy. You have given us all the festivals for happiness especially this feast of Passover. The Tears of the slaves Take some parsley, dip it in salt water all say together O Lord our G*d, you are king of all, you have given us the fruits of the earth Eat the parsley, dripping with salt water. The salt water is a reminder of the tears of the slaves The leader takes one of three matza, breaks it in two, holds up a broken half This is the bread of sadness which we ate in Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat. This year we are here, next year in Jerusalem. Yesterday we were slaves. Today we are free. When escaping the slaves did not have time to leave the bread to rise –, hence the flat unleavened bread of Passover (matza) and the deliberate absence of yeast The youngest (child) present asks the four ritual questions: Why do we matza? Why do we eat bitter herbs? Why do we dip the vegetables? Why do we sit on cushions? In reply the story of the Exodus is recounted Everyone responds at the end of the story: And it is that promise, that G*d made, to free us from our enemies, and keep us safe from evil hands. Songs will be sung. One of the traditional songs is the Dayennu (Dayennu = It would have been enough for us). If G*d had only done this it would have been enough, but he did more, and if G*d had only done that it would have been enough, but he did more If G*d had brought us out of Egypt, Only brought us out of Egypt And hadn’,t split the sea before us It would have been enough for us If G*d had split the sea before us Only split the sea before us And hadn’,t dried the sand beneath us It would have been enough for us If G*d had dried the sand beneath us Only dried the sand beneath us And hadn’,t fed us in the desert It would have been enough for us If G*d had fed us in the desert Only fed us in the desert And hadn’,t sent his heavenly manna It would have been enough for us If G*d had sent his heavenly manna Only sent his heavenly manna And hadn’,t taught the peace of Sabbath It would have been enough for us If G*d had taught the peace of Sabbath Only taught the peace of Sabbath And hadn’,t brought us to Mount Sinai It would have been enough for us If G*d had brought us to Mount Sinai Only brought us to Mount Sinai And hadn’,t given us his commandments It would have been enough for us If G*d had given us his commandments Only given us his commandments And hadn’,t led us into Israel It would have been enough for us If G*d had led us into Israel Only led us into Israel And hadn’,t built his chosen Temple It would have been enough for us. The songs close with: Everyone should think that they themselves were part of the Exodus. Everyone should say, “,This is what G*d did for me.”, We should thank G*d and praise him. He has brought us from sorrow to joy, From his darkness to light. Let us praise him and sing Alleluia The second toast is drunk Hands are washed in preparation for the meal O Lord our G*d, You are king of all, You have blessed us with the Ten Commandments and told us to wash. A piece of Matza is eaten O Lord our G*d, you are king of all, you have blessed us with the Ten Commandments and told us to eat matza Everyone takes a little bitter herbs (horseradish) and charoset (a sweet paste, perhaps apples, nuts &, cinnamon blended) consumes the two together and says O Lord our G*d, you are king of all. You have blessed us with the Ten Commandments and told us to eat bitter herbs. Everyone makes a sandwich of bitter herbs and matza and eats it. The half matza that was broken earlier in the evening has been hidden somewhere in the room. The children are sent to find it, without it the Seder cannot continue. Once found it is “,ransomed”, or bought with a small token gift Thanksgiving Leader Give thanks to G*d for he is good Response Blessed be G*d forever Leader Let us bless G*d who provided this wonderful meal Response Blessed be G*d forever Leader Put your trust in G*d, he will help us. Response Blessed be G*d forever The third toast (to peace) is drunk The cups are filled for the fourth toast, an extra cup is prepared for Elijah, the door is unlatched and a chair set ready. The Jewish people await the arrival of the Messiah, before the Messiah arrives Elijah will return, possibly on this most propitious of nights The leader says Father, Pour out your anger on those who would harm us. Let your fury overtake them. Pursue them in anger and remove them from under your heavens. All say together Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His love and kindness last forever Let Israel proclaim aloud. His love and kindness last forever Let all the priests announce. His love and kindness last forever Let all who love the Lord speak out. His love and kindness last forever All stand and say O Lord our G*d, You are king of all, You have blessed us with the fruit of the vine Drink the fourth cup, the toast is “,Jerusalem”, Then say together O Lord our G*d, You are king of all. We thank you for the wine and the food and our homes. Lord our G*d, be merciful to us. Dismissal All say together We are coming to the end of our Passover. We have said and done everything. We have praised G*d, may he bring peace to the world. Next year in Jerusalem. FEASTS 21st March. Naw-Ruz. Bahai new year On or about the spring equinox, this is the first fast-free day for 19 days. Time is spent visiting friends and relatives and exchanging gifts. Naw-Ruz is one of the nine Bahá,`í, holy days on which work is suspended. 1st April. Rama Navami. Hindu Rama Navami celebrates the birth of Lord Rama. Rama was an incarnation of Vishu and the hero of the Ramayana. A continuous recital of the book takes place for about a week prior to the celebration and on the day itself, the highlights of the story are read in the temple. The youngest female member of the household leads the puja (prayers) by applying a red tilak (mark) to all the other members of the family before everyone joins together in worship. 7th April First day of Passover. Jewish The start of the week long season of Passover when the Jewish people commemorate the liberation of the Children of Israel who were led out of Egypt by Moses. Work is not permitted on the first two and the last two days of Passover. 13th April Vaisakhi. Sikh The Sikh New Year Festival, which also commemorates the founding of the brotherhood of all Sikhs by the tenth Guru (Guru Gobind Singh) in 1699. Vaisakhi, is one of the most important dates in the Sikh calendar. It is the New Year festival, on April 13 or 14. The day is often marked by processions around the streets

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L eeds Trinity will be hosting a major Catholic international theological conference celebrating Catholic Higher Education in the UK from 26 –, 29 June 2012. The conference ‘,Vatican II –, 50 Years on: The New Evangelization’, will feature a number of internationally acclaimed speakers, including Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, President of the newly formed Pontifical Council for New Evangelization, Gavin D’,Costa, Professor of Catholic Theology at the University of Bristol, and other high profile church leaders and theologians from different parts of the world. The fiftieth anniversary of the beginning of the Second Vatican Council provides a unique opportunity to revisit that seminal event which had such a profound impact on the life of the Catholic Church and its mission. In particular, the Council began an engagement with the modern and secularized world through a renewed proclamation of the Gospel. Blessed John Paul II described this as the ‘,new evangelization’,, and in 2010, Pope Benedict XVI confirmed this priority by creating the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization. In order to reflect on the impact of Council and deepen understanding of the New Evangelization, Leeds Trinity University College is hosting this international Catholic theological conference. It is being organised by Leeds Trinity in conjunction with the Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University. This is the first in a series to celebrate Catholic Higher Education in the UK. For more information visit www.leedstrinity.ac.uk/vaticanIIconference NEWS FROM LEEDS TRINITY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE Leeds Catholic Post Page 7 Leeds Trinity to host major international Catholic conference Professional Work Placements at Leeds Trinity J ournalism Week at Leeds Trinity University College was hailed a huge success, with some of the biggest names in the British media providing inspiration for the next generation of reporters. Channel 4 News anchor Jon Snow was the keynote speaker at the fourth annual event, which also included Peter Salmon, Director of BBC North, Harry Gration, BBC Look North, and Mark Easton, the BBC’,s Home Affairs Editor. Students were also able to put questions to the speakers, who included video, print and online journalists. Catherine O’,Connor, head of the Centre for Journalism at Leeds Trinity, was delighted with the reaction to the event from students. She said: “,Students were saying this is the best ever. They were really buzzing - it was fabulous to see their reaction. I think the tutors were all having a really good time as well but it’,s about the students and the feedback was great yesterday. We’,ve been running it for about four years now and it’,s a really big team effort in terms of people pulling in journalists that they know, speaking to people when they go to conferences and trying to pitch for really big names like Jon Snow.”, Catherine O’,Connor said the reaction to the event helped put Leeds Trinity firmly on the map, with the event gaining prestige each year - and extremely high profile guest speakers. She hoped the week-long conference would lead to more students gaining employment in the industry. She added: “,The students are all taught by practitioners, people who’,ve got loads of industry experience. But I don’,t think that can ever compensate for giving them exposure to people who arrive on the train and go back and present the Channel 4 News –, people who are utterly absorbed in news media day in, day out. “,Students should and often do use it as a way of making contacts and there will be students who will be going off doing work experience at various places because they’,re talking to the journalists. “,Sometimes it can just inspire them about something they’,ve not perhaps thought about, but most important of all is helping them to understand more about what’,s going on in the field they want to work in.”, Leeds Trinity Journalism Week 2012 L eeds Trinity Titans are the new champions of BUCS Yorkshire Rugby League following a 32-28 victory over Sheffield. Titans won the division with a game to spare, which they won 58-4 against closest challengers Bradford. Titans player Ashley Pemberton said “,it’,s been a good way to finish my time at Leeds Trinity –, winning the league unbeaten is a great achievement.”, Titans have enjoyed an imperious season and won all ten of their league meetings ahead of the playoffs. The Titans have yet to hear who they will face in the playoffs, but will be eagerly anticipating the chance to play some teams in the higher divisions and to test themselves at the national level. (photo: Ivor Hughes) Leeds Trinity Titans take BUCS Yorkshire Rugby League Title Events at Leeds Trinity University College ‘, 8th Annual Writers’, Festival 28 March All welcome to attend workshops with experienced writers in poetry, dramatic writing, building plots and characters, and short stories. Registration is free to Leeds Trinity students and alumni (£,10 for external delegates). For any enquiries or to book your place, contact Heather Jones on h.jones@leedstrinity.ac.uk or 0113 2837126. Professorial Inaugural Lectures 22 March at 1.30pm Professor Judy Donnelly on ‘,Nutrition education: My consuming passion’, 15 May at 6.30pm Professor Maureen Meikle on ‘,Spirited ladies? A reappraisal of women from northern England and the Anglo-Scottish borders 1580 to 1700’, For more information contact Maddie Addinall on m.addinall@leedstrinity.ac.uk or 0113 283 7102 Please visit our website at www.leedstrinity.ac.uk for more details and a full events listing. P rofessional work placements are a part of every undergraduate degree at Leeds Trinity University College. Is it any wonder that 94% of our graduates are working or in further study? As they return from their placements, second year students are now reflecting on their experiences. They’,ve done everything from filming adverts for famous supermarkets to managing high risk offenders within the community. Our Employment Partnership Office develops and maintains relationships with an amazing variety of businesses, charities, schools, and agencies –, this means that they are able to arrange more than 1,000 placements each year for Leeds Trinity students. In addition to gaining work experience, students also make valuable industry contacts. In fact, many of our students begin working for their placement employers on a paid basis after graduation. Danny Taylor, second year Business with Marketing student, spent his placement with Bradford-based company Partners in Innovation. As the marketing lead on a project aimed at helping children in underdeveloped countries, he had the opportunity to take part in extensive talks with the UK Head of Development for UNICEF, Nigel Fisher, as well as the UK Development head of ActionAid, Peter De Vena Franks. Not only was Danny given the chance to excel with a challenging, high profile project, he has made good networking contacts that will be really helpful when he begins his career. Danny says: “,I’,ve learned so much, and it’,s been great to put my academic knowledge to the test in the real world.”,

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Page 8 Leeds Catholic Post A s you may know when a parent applies to a school for a place for their child the application is not always successful and the parent is legally allowed to appeal against the decision. The Diocese of Leeds Office for Schools and Education have set-up an Independent Appeals Service, however, to make this service work we need people to volunteer to be Appeal Panel members. There are two types of panel members needed –, Lay Members and Professional Members. A Lay Member must not have any professional educational background. Parents and school governors who do not work in education can be Lay Members but will not be used for appeals at their own schools or in their own immediate areas. Professional Members work in the education service currently or have done so recently. As a panel member, you will need to have a friendly manner and to be able to listen to the case put forward by parents and schools. Panels are made up of three people and as a member of the panel you will need the ability to make a balanced judgment based on the facts. Panel members do not need to have detailed knowledge of the law relating to admissions but training in the basic principles is essential and will be provided. All panel members are volunteers but are able to claim travel expenses. If this type of service to the Church is of interest to you then come along to our next training session: Wednesday, 18th April at 2.00pm at Hinsley Hall (this session is free of charge). To book a place please contact: Mrs Janine Garnett, Vicariate for Evangelisation, Hinsley Hall, 62 Headingley Lane, Leeds, LS6 2BX Tel: 0113 261 8040 Fax: 0113 261 8044 email: janine.garnett@dioceseofleeds.org.uk Admission Appeals –, Diocesan Service Beverley Sice, Admissions and Governance Officer By A. Millington I n 2015 The Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Heckmondwike will celebrate its centenary and the church is appealing for our help in order to continue such a proud legacy. The church itself is a Grade 2 listed building that is in need of urgent, major structural repair and decoration. Work will begin later this year but, although the English Heritage has agreed a grant, the parish and its congregation are faced with the matter of raising in excess of £,100,000 for these repairs. The congregation themselves are hosting fundraising events. Last Christmas, the fayre was opened by Kitty McGeever, who plays Lizzie Lakely in Emmerdale. A Facebook Group has also being set up in order to aid funds and can be found under ‘,Holy Spirit Centenary Appeal’,. Any ideas to help raise funds would be greatly appreciated and the parish may be contacted through www.holyspiritchurch.org.uk Holy Spirit Catholic Church has a wealth of history and a range of traditions. G.K Chesterton’,s short stories featuring the priest-detective Father Brown, was based on Fr. John O’,Connor, who is a former priest at the parish. To mark the hundredth anniversary a book entitled A History of the Holy Spirit Catholic Church will be published later this year. Additional information can be found at www.holyspiritcentenaryappeal.org.uk Father Brown’,s Church reaches 100 O n World Water Day students in both our High Schools and Primary Schools are walking for water, in solidarity with young people in developing countries, mostly girls, who have to carry heavy loads for long distances every day. High school students will be walking from the centre of Leeds to Kirkstall Abbey, carrying a 10 litres of water. Primary school children will be undertaking a variety of activities, including a water-themed assembly as well as carrying water around their school grounds. In solidarity and in prayer we want to show our determination to work for clean water for all. How you can help •, Send a message to David Cameron, urging him to make access to clean water a priority at the next G8 meeting in May. ‘,Thirst for Change Action Cards available from the CAFOD Leeds Office. •, Write a message of hope by filling in a ‘,droplet’,, also on the water card and make a display in your parish or send it to the Leeds Office. •, Join us on the 22nd March and walk to Kirkstall with us. Meet outside the Mint Hotel for a 10am start. Wear comfortable shoes and do let us know if you are coming! 0113 275 9302 leeds@cafod.org.uk World Water Day 22nd March Our Schools Walk for Water L ike many other schools and parishes, parishioners and children from St. Benedict’,s Garforth have been giving up their favourite treats and planning lots of activities this Lent to help provide clean water for people around the world as part of CAFOD’,s annual ‘,Give it Up’, Lenten Appeal. Nearly a billion people don’,t have access to clean water, and diseases caused by dirty water and poor sanitation claim 1.7 million lives every year, more than the total killed through violence and war. That is why St. Benedict’,s school-parish community have decided to take action together. On Saturday 3rd March Parish priest, Fr. Gerard Kearney led a bread-making workshop so that families could enjoy a fun workshop together. On Sunday 4th the bread was used at a ‘,hunger lunch’, where people paid for a frugal bread and soup lunch instead of the usual Yorkshire pudding roast dinner. All proceeds from this community action kick- started their commitment to ‘,Give it up for water’, this Lent. Another highlight is St. Benedict’,s Primary School’,s ‘,water challenge’,. The school wants children to learn, from the youngest to the oldest, what it is like for children in developing countries to have to walk long distances carrying a heavy container of water every day. Head Teacher Mr. Kieron Flood explained, ‘, Each class will split into groups of six and they will carry their water over the day between them and use pedometers to see which group walk the water furthest. Early Years and Foundation will carry ½, litre, Years 1, 2 &, 3 will carry 1 litre and Years 4, 5 &, 6 will carry 2 litres. This will be combined with other water related challenges and we’,ll also be joining with the parish ‘,Give it up for water’, action.’, Jo from Year 4 said, `It `s really great to organise our fundraising sales. We have to try and think of different activities to raise money knowing that we will be helping children in other parts of the World like us who don`t have clean water to drink` This is just one of the many creative ways across Leeds Diocese that people are ensuring that their Give it Up! fundraising will have double the impact. This year CAFOD has been awarded UK Aid Match funding for their Lent appeal. This means the Department for International Development will match pound for pound every donation given to CAFOD’,s Lent appeal. Andrew Mitchell, Secretary of State for International Development, told us: ",CAFOD is working to improve water access, sanitation and hygiene for some of the world`s most vulnerable and neglected people, including those affected by war, climate change and disease. It is potentially life-saving work, tackling cholera, helping girls attend school rather than having to fetch water and ensuring that children know about hygiene and waterborne diseases. ",By matching pound for pound all public donations, the UK Government will help People Across Our Diocese ‘,Give it Up’, for water this Lent CAFOD double its impact, ensuring tens of thousands more families have access to clean water and sanitation and are provided with everything from water purification kits and soap to training in how to fix a broken borehole.”, Lent is a time when we all stop and reflect on our lives. It’,s amazing that people and children all over Leeds are putting so much time and energy into thinking about others and helping to change lives. By Giving it Up for CAFOD we are making a real difference. The money that flows from these events will help transform the lives of people living in poverty, and with the Government matching every donation, the difference we can make together is so much greater. The team at CAFOD Leeds greatly appreciates all your efforts. See below for some of the great ideas from our parishes and schools: •, Sacred Heart, Ilkley:- CAFOD Parish Walk, Sunday 01 July, 11.30 approx, after end of 10.30 Mass, to Addingham, picnic at English Martyrs, and return to Ilkley. •, Immaculate Heart Parish Huddersfield, St. Joseph’,s Church:-Lent lunch every Wednesday •, Ss. John Fisher and Thomas More, Burley in Wharfedale:- Each Sunday Liturgy in Lent involves some aspect of Water so parishioners are using the CAFOD ‘,Let Waters Flow’, Prayer Cards. Each week we will have a small changing exhibition with Children`s Liturgy and Youth group contributions. •, Weather permitting we will have some buckets and containers outside church for people to imagine carrying quantities any distance . . . and of course we will be collecting donations! •, St. Joseph’,s Harrogate:- CAFOD Table Top Sale, Saturday 10th March 10.00 –, 2.00pm •, St Cuthbert and First Martyrs –, Musical Evening, Friday 30th March For further information please contact: Margaret Siberry, Telephone: 0113 2759302 Email: leeds@cafod.org.uk

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Leeds Catholic Post Page 9 What Lit My Flame . . . I may have been around for only eighteen of CAFOD’,s fifty years, but this past week, I have truly felt inspired by its history. Together with 40 other Sixth Form Students at St. Mary’,s Menston in Leeds, I run the college CAFOD group. We work with students and staff, our feeder primary school and our local community to raise funds for CAFOD and drum up support for its campaigns. For many of us working in these ‘,satellite’, CAFOD groups, the head office in Central London can feel a million miles away. So when I was asked by my Diocese to make the journey south to take part in events marking the start of the 50th Anniversary, I jumped at the chance. I felt privileged to be asked and eager to see for myself the workings behind the scenes that drive the actions of our own little group. On a Friday morning, I set off from a very cold Leeds to an even colder London where I met up with other CAFOD youth volunteers from across England and Wales. Almost before the introductions were over we threw ourselves into our packed itinerary. There were workshops with staff, activities, games, and talks from CAFOD’,s overseas partners. Together we explored new ways in which we as young people can use social media and other new initiatives to extend our fundraising and campaigning work. We got the chance to learn about the bigger picture and broaden our understanding of development. We discovered how CAFOD manages its responses to natural disasters and political unrest. And we learnt about the way CAFOD engages with the media both nationally and locally to spread the word of its mission, and win new supporters to the cause. That was just day one of our visit, and there was no time to feel exhausted! Mass in Westminster Cathedral The next day, we were going to be hard at work helping out at the Open Day for supporters at Romero House and then volunteering at the Westminster Cathedral 50th Anniversary Mass. After a night spent in a hostel close by, we were all up early at Romero House to be assigned our roles for the morning, giving tours or helping with refreshments. I was lucky enough to be stationed on the Pavilion, the top floor of the building, with its panoramic view of the London skyline. The morning saw a steady stream of supporters and volunteers pour in from across England and Wales. There was a real feeling of celebration and a coming together of old and young, friends and strangers: all with something to contribute, all with something to celebrate. When we arrived at Westminster Cathedral for the Anniversary Mass, it was a daunting feeling looking up at its faç,ade, and seeing the hundreds of visitors filling every seat and vantage point. I was especially nervous as I was going to be reading one of the ‘,Calls To Recommitment’, to all those people in that magnificent setting. The mass was moving and thought-provoking, yet also informative. The homily, given by Bishop John Arnold, beautifully told the story of the beginnings of CAFOD and how it had evolved from a dedicated group of ‘,feisty’, women in the 1960s to an organisation known throughout the developing world. Call to Recommitment A particularly moving moment of the Mass was the Call To 50 years of Partnership, Solidarity and Hope On the anniversary of the martyrdom of Archbishop Romero, an inspirational figure for CAFOD, please join us for a special afternoon of celebration. Wheeler Hall, St Anne’,s Cathedral 2.00 - 5.00 Saturday 24th March All Welcome with Anne Marie Mealey, CAFOD Theological Adviser John Battle, Fellow, Leeds Trinity University College Chris Bain, Director of CAFOD followed by Celebration of Mass 6pm St. Anne’,s Cathedral Celebrant: Rt. Rev. John Rawsthorne, Bishop of Hallam and former Chair of CAFOD. Help us celebrate 50 years of commitment to overseas development by our parishes and schools. Recommitment by CAFOD Partner and Trustee, Margaret Mwaniki, who travelled from Kenya to take part. In her speech, she said something that will stay with me for a long time: “,CAFOD and its supporters do not give because they are rich, but because they believe in one fairer, just world.”, It made me think of the hostel we had stayed in overnight, and how some of us had moaned about the conditions there. For hundreds of millions of people around the world, those facilities would have felt like luxury. In fact Margaret herself went on to joke about enjoying a long shower and not having to wash with a jerry can or wait hours for the water to be heated first over firewood. I found her words humbling and inspiring, and at the same time a celebration of what we were all there for. I left the Cathedral and my time in London with a new sense –, something I had not considered before –, of how CAFOD’,s work is so centred on the pursuit of social and economic justice. Having always wanted to follow a career in the law, I came away thinking about how I could use that ambition to bring my campaigning against injustice and inequality into my working life. More than anything, I came away committed to do what I can to help persuade other young people to join that fight, so they can get as much from volunteering and campaigning for CAFOD as I do. It’,s a heavy burden of responsibility to be called the ‘,Great Generation’, or the ‘,Future of CAFOD’,, as so many older people told us we were over the weekend in London. But with the friends I have made, and the motivation we all took from the weekend, I feel sure that in the next 50 years we will still be celebrating the work and the progress that CAFOD has achieved, and passing the flame on again. Ben Jackson, 18, St. Mary’,s Catholic High School Menston ****We’,d love to hear what lit your flame –,tell us how you first became involved with CAFOD or started working for justice. Send us an email : leeds@cafod.org.uk or write a note or call us on 0113 275 9302

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Page 10 Leeds Catholic Post Specialists in wedding photography 01977 556088 07716728109 Your wedding is a unique day which involves considerable thought, planning, time and effort. Once your special day is over you will be left with many lovely memories some of which will inevitably fade over time. Investing in good photography can ensure that the mood and emotion of your day is captured to form a permanent reminder to enable you to relive your memories for years to come. Sylvia Wright’,s 30 Years in India, the story so far . . . S ylvia Wright has just completed 30 years of dedicated service to thousands of poor, sick and disabled people in Tamil Nadu, South India. We look back at her remarkable story …,.so far. Sylvia will be in Leeds in April and the Sylvia Wright Trust will be marking her wonderful achievement at: A Service of Celebration &, Thanksgiving in St. Anne’,s Cathedral, Great George Street, Leeds at 2.30 pm. on Sunday 22 April Catholic Post readers are invited to join Sylvia. The renowned Cathedral Choir will be directed by Benjamin Saunders and the Lord Mayor of Leeds, several Church leaders and other dignitaries will be attending. There will be tea and cakes in the attached Wheeler Hall from 3.45pm. Sylvia reflects on 30 Years “,In 1982 at the age of 44 years when most people are beginning to consolidate their lives I started on an entirely new one –, in a country thousands of miles away with a different climate, language, religion, social values and life style. If I look back on it I also ask myself: “,Why on earth did you do it? The simple answer is the true one –, God only knows. It seemed to me that to sell all my possessions, give all my money to the poor and go off to India was exactly what God was asking me to do. During those thirty years have I ever doubted it? Many times. Have I ever doubted God? Many times. Have my ideas and experiences of ‘,God’, as I thought of Him in 1982, changed by 2012 –, undoubtedly. However the words of our Lord, as recorded in the Bible, still have a power to lift and inspire me as nothing else can. I can say along with millions of others, I have tried. I have honestly done my best, often failing but never actually giving up! People talk about my ‘,achievements’, but I do not think they amount to anything very extraordinary. However there are some things I can say to all my friends both in India and the UK. To all those who have touched my life in some way and vice versa, to all those whose hearts are moved by the suffering and hardship of others and wish to alleviate it, I can say : “,May God bless you. In your own ways you make the world a better place”,. Over 30 years, we have had our ups and downs, challenges and triumphs, heart break and joy –, the common stuff of all our lives wherever and however we lead them. My strong faith in God and the financial and personal support of my many friends and well-wishers over the years have sustained me, I am sincerely grateful to you all. So what of the future? Another 30 years? Well it is possible, but not so likely! With God’,s grace I am hoping for at least another 25. After all, 99 is not such a great age in these days!”, Early Years Sylvia was born in 1938 and brought up on the family farm near East Keswick. She loved animals and her ambition was to be a vet. This was discouraged at Lawnswood High School where she was doing well in History. Oxbridge beckoned. Photo G in Whitby 1981 However, after her father’,s sudden death, Sylvia changed her plans and trained as a nurse at Leeds General Infirmary. She became a midwife, health visitor and Sister Tutor. She then worked as a Senior Nursing Officer, coordinating Leeds inner-city community health services before becoming Senior Lecturer on the B.Sc Hons. Nursing Course at what is now Leeds Metropolitan University. The big decision Sylvia’,s mother died in 1980. After much heart-searching about her vocation, Sylvia spoke to close friends, her parish priest, Fr Tony Pearson, and Bishop Wheeler. She also consulted Mother Teresa. Mind made up, in 1982 she sold her house, furniture and car, drew out her savings, cashed in her pension and went alone to India. Sylvia landed in Madras on 6 January 1982 and travelled to Thiruvannamalai, a 6 hour journey on very poor roads. Thiruvannamalai Clinics Sylvia was given accommodation by the Sisters of Grace and Compassion. She faced major challenges. “,Nothing could have prepared me for the shock of moving from the UK to a totally different life of poverty and deprivation. Health provision was totally inadequate and often non- existent,”, she recalls. She bought a van, equipped it with medical items and drugs, trained five staff –, none of whom had any medical or nursing experience - and developed her original six village clinics. photo H There was a limited electricity supply, the water came from open wells and there were many superstitious beliefs about the cause and treatment of illness. The infant mortality rate was high and life expectancy low. photo I Local village house Sylvia’,s new team became very popular in the villages as no local doctor was willing to work in those conditions. They worked from 8am to 10pm and often till after midnight six days a week. On the seventh day Sylvia trained her fledgling staff. Photo J original staff. Three of her ‘,originals’,, Mr. Vijayan, Mr. Jayaraj and Ms Mary Rajam are still working with her 30 years on. Sylvia Wright Trust formed Sylvia’,s money soon ran out and the Sylvia Wright Trust was formed on 19 July 1982. The first trustees were John Maury (Chairman), Rev Henry Pickard, Michael O’,Donnell (Secretary), Frank Bowe and Denis Macauley (Treasurer). Hospital The first small hospital was opened in 1985. Replaced in 2002, it has 220 beds and treats 80,000 outpatients a year. Photo K. It is busy, clean and efficient with high standards of patient care, hospital acquired infections are virtually unknown. Busy clinics treat TB, Diabetes, Cardiac and many other problems, there is a major Dialysis Unit and HIV/Aids treatment centre for the local 1.7 million population. Rangammal School for Hearing Impaired The free boarding school for profoundly deaf children was started in 1992, at the request of the District Collector, there was no educational provision for such children and the incidence of deafness in the district was very high. It now has 210 children described by a visiting trustee, Michael Lydon, as ‘,the happiest children in the world’,. Almost all the children are sponsored which enables the Sylvia Wright Trust to pay nearly all the running costs helped by some small government grants. Photo L of School in 2011. Across page? Day Care Centres The local administration also requested work with severely mentally and physically disabled children, so in 2004 Sylvia opened Sylvia in Whitby Original Staff Sylvia in a Village House

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Leeds Catholic Post Page 11 two Day Care Centres. Staff care for 80 children and provide opportunities for play, physiotherapy and respite for the parents. The cost is small but the results are astonishing and humbling. 3 of the children are now sponsored. Photo M of child &, physio OBE Sylvia was awarded the OBE in 2008. This recognised her clear vision, unremitting work rate and determination to overcome every obstacle. She has made tremendous personal sacrifices and is a real leader, not just a figurehead. In all this Sylvia is modest and unassuming about her achievements. The rest of us are simply amazed. The Florence Nightingale School of Nursing Finally (?) in 2009 Sylvia opened a Nursing College for 80 students, leading to the Nursing Council of India Diploma. It is flourishing and highly regarded. The student nurses, mostly from deprived local backgrounds, are trained to provide high quality nursing care in the hospital and community. The Trust paid for the buildings and the College is now self-financing. Recent Photo N (if space) “,Without you I can do nothing.”, Sylvia said recently: “,Obviously all this work has kept me out of mischief for the past thirty years and thereby hangs many a tale.”, Something of an understatement! She adds for her supporters: “,Without you I can do nothing.”, To request further details of Sylvia’,s work, receive a DVD of Sylvia’,s Story, sponsor a child or make a donation or please visit www.sylviawright.org or contact Tony Allinson (SWT Chairman) 14 Kings Road, LS16 9JN. tel: 0113 2675735 Personal Memories from some friends: •, “,In the mid 1970s Sylvia joined our Notre Dame prayer group. She read to the group several times: ‘,Sell what you own and give the money to the poor’, (Matt.19 v.21) and realising that God was calling her she acted in total obedience.”, •, “,We met each week to pray, she was always very attractively dressed with beautiful long hair - quite a catch for someone, I used to think. The same words would keep coming up. ‘,Leave everything and follow me’,. This made us all feel a bit edgy. What a relief it was when Sylvia announced to us that she felt called by God to do just that…,.. …,What shines through it all is her humanity and down to earth attitude. Once she came round to tea and was worried about finance. My 7 year old daughter said: “,Buy a lottery ticket.”, To my surprise Sylvia went with her to the shop to buy one. It was only my daughter who had the problem with God when the numbers did not come up!”, •, “,Sylvia’,s modest beauty and her gentle spirituality was a real gift to us all. We gasped when she revealed what the Lord had said to her, but we knew it was really Him. I have rejoiced to see the developments and how the support here has been consistent and well organised. Sylvia’,s mission has touched countless thousands here and in India”,. - •, “,In those days ladies wore headscarves in the Cathedral. Having an eye for style, I always checked out Sylvia’,s and thought it was always posh! I remember her faithfulness and constancy. Many evenings I could see she was dead tired after work but she was always there. No excuses. This and her teaching on the importance of growing in prayer - as well as the headscarves!”, •, “,On the morning she left, a friend took her to the station. She gave me her keys, her bank book and instructions to sell her car and all that was in her flat. The money from everything was to go in the bank book for the India project. Her mother had given her a new bible so I was able to keep her old one. It was well used!”,- •, “, Sylvia is one of those rare people, like Mother Teresa and Jean Vanier, who have not only changed the lives of many individuals but have helped to change for the better the attitude of the whole community”,. Village Clinic Florence Nightingale School of Nursing School in 2011 Student nurses

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Page 12 Leeds Catholic Post E Diamond Jubilee Celebrations in Normanton: N ormanton and Altofts Town Council has embarked on a year of celebrations to mark the Diamond Jubilee of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Councilors chose to have an Ecumenical Church Service organised by Churches Together. The venue was St. John the Baptist Church, Normanton. Canon Peter Maguire welcomed a full congregation that included the Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, Major David Wroe, M B E. to the service. He recalled the excellent relationship between her Majesty and the Catholic Church, especially with its leaders. She referred to Cardinal Hulme as “,My Cardinal”,, and bestowed a special honour on him towards the end of his life that is reserved for very few people. Cardinal Murphy O’,Connor was a guest of the Queen at Sandringham one week end, and was invited to preach to the royal household. Her Majesty gave Pope Benedict xvi a royal welcome when he visited Great Britain. Her successful visit to Ireland last year did a lot to heal divisions and re enforce the relationship between Great Britain and Ireland. Greetings were read by the Wardens of All Saints Parish Church, Normanton, St. Mary Magdalene’,s, Altofts, and the Head Boy and Head Girl of Freeston Academy. Ministers from other churches and councilors took part in the service. The Homily was given by the Dean of Wakefield Cathedral, Very Rev. Jonathan Greener. Children from St John the Baptist School gave a rendering of the Gaelic Blessing. Members of the Royal British Legion gave a salute to Her Majesty during the singing of the National Anthem. In his homily the Dean recalled how the abdication of King Edward the VIII on 11th December 1936 made such a difference to 10 year old Elizabeth. Her father became George VI and she became heiress presumptive. On her 21st Birthday she made a broadcast on radio Cape Town while touring South Africa in which she said: ”,I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong”,. He went on: “,we’,ve been blessed that her life has been long, and that throughout she has stood firmly by the promise made in that historic speech. We’,ve listened to the words of Jesus: ‘,whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant’, they are words which our Queen has taken to heart since those early days.”, He made the point that in spite of the trappings of royalty, the whole idea of monarchy in our land is conceived in terms of service “,so it is completely fitting that we should gather to give thanks to God for one who has embodied this over so many years”,, The evening was rounded off with refreshments in the Parish Club.

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Leeds Catholic Post Page 13 I nspired by pilgrimages from last summer and by the Love@Leeds Youth 2000 retreat in February, young adults gathered at Hinsley Hall for a training and prayer evening to prepare for this year’,s LDYS Lent event –, “,The Ark”,. “,The Ark”, is for young people in school years 9 –, 13 and will take place in Leeds Cathedral Hall. As the “,Team Ark”, arrived and enjoyed each others’, company during dinner, their enthusiasm for evangelisation was tangible. A combination of students, teachers, school chaplains, plus a handful of others are going to be a dynamic and attractive team to lead “,The Ark”, event. As the evening progressed and discussion about “,The Ark’,s”, sessions were in full swing, it was amazing to witness conversations which were filled with love for both the Lord and His Church. This was inevitably interspersed with comedy moments as the more creative elements were prepared for “,The Ark”, sessions (sign language, drama, music and creative prayer responses). The evening ended with a time of prayer in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel of Hinsley Hall. A time of listening to the Lord and of asking Mary to intercede for “,The Ark”, sessions and all those who will lead them. “,Team Ark”, left Hinsley Hall ready and raring to go! Leeds Diocesan Youth Service ‘,All who are thirsty, come!’, (Rev 22:17) Follow us atLeedsDYS. 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. Every Tuesday (The prayer group will break after 27th March &, will start again on 17th April) Refresh: Youth 2000 Prayer Group 6.30-7.30pm Leeds Cathedral Sunday 18th March Youth Ministry Holy Hour 3 –, 4pm Myddelton Grange Saturday 24th March FLAME CONGRESS Wembley Arena Thursday 19th April Youth Ministry Holy Hour 2.30 –, 3.30pm Hinsley Hall Wednesday 25th April REVELATION 7 –, 9pm Cathedral Hall, Leeds Leeds Diocesan Youth Service Calendar WORLD YOUTH DAY : RIO 2013 T he Holy Father would like to meet with young people from the Diocese of Leeds in Rio in July 2013. Really, he does! However, you may not get to meet him face to face if you decide to join thousands of pilgrims from all over the world for the spectacular World Youth Day experience! While the official LDYS deadline for WYD applications has been and gone, there are still some places left on this amazing pilgrimage. To receive more information or to apply to be a part of the Leeds WYD group, then please contact Anna Cowell at the Youth Office –, abcleedsdiocese@hotmail.com / 0113 2618058 Love@Leeds : Youth 2000 Retreat I t promised to be a weekend filled with of inspirational speakers, dynamic workshops with plenty of time to pray and relax with friends new and old, and it’,s now safe to say that Love@Leeds did not disappoint. While the universities and 6th forms of the Diocese of Leeds were well represented, young adults from all over the country made up the faithful crowd at Notre Dame Sixth Form College, Leeds, on the weekend of 10th –, 12th February 2012. The Leeds Youth 2000 team of volunteers, joined by representatives from the national Youth 2000 team along with the Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Renewal executed an amazing Spirit-filled retreat. It was wonderful on Sunday to hear from retreat participants about their journey with God from over the weekend. Some spoke of having powerful experiences in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, while others sensed the Lord’,s presence in moments of silence during Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament (which takes places throughout the whole of any Youth 2000 retreat or festival). Many young people spoke of a profound boost to their faith, simply due to the fact that they had been with so many other young Catholics who have the same beliefs and struggles as young Catholics. As Masses and Eucharistic Adoration are central to any Youth 2000 retreat, it wasn’,t surprising to hear young adults leaving the retreat saying that they were going to try this Lent to spend some time each week in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Leeds Diocesan Youth Service would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who helped Love@Leeds become an excellent event. Special thanks to Notre Dame Sixth Form College for allowing us to take over the building for the weekend. It is without a doubt that many more young people were able to benefit from the retreat than in previous years because of the central location of the venue. We really appreciate the great generosity shown to us. For those who were not able to make the retreat and those who want to continue the Youth 2000 experience beyond the weekend of the retreat, don’,t forget that each Tuesday, 6.30 -7.30pm at Leeds Cathedral is “,Refresh : Youth 2000 Prayer Group”, for young adults aged 16-35. It would be wonderful to see you there! “,TEAM ARK”,

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Page 14 Leeds Catholic Post P aul Kennedy and his wife visited Ss Peter and Paul Catholic Primary school, Yeadon, on the 27th January. They were representing the Wharfedale Catenians. The Catenians donated £,100 to school to buy a religious icon. We have purchased a hand made cross El Salvador Cross representing Christ as the Good Shepherd. From the remaining funds we hope to purchase a large picture of Saint Peter and Saint Paul. In receiving the gift the school was represented by Rhianne Shaw (the eldest child in school) and Poppy and Ben Fletcher (the youngest children in school). Mr. &, Mrs. Kennedy were very impressed with how well the children behaved and how wonderful our new school looks! The children enjoyed listening to a short speech by Mr Kennedy who told them a little of the Catenians and how much school had changed since he was a `lad` in Bradford. The Catenians Present an Icon A group of Sixth Form students from St. Mary’,s Catholic High School, Menston recently took part in a fundraising event in memory of their friend and fellow student Erin Crotty who sadly died in July of last year. The event was held to raise money for “,Riding for the Disabled Association”,, a charity which helps disabled children fulfil their dreams of being able to ride horses. This particular charity was chosen as Erin had a great passion for both horses and caring for other people so it was thought particularly fitting. The event consisted of an evening concert with local bands and singers performing –, just two days after Erin would have celebrated her 17th birthday. Organisers of the event raised an incredible sum of £,1070, a combination of money from the actual event, sponsorship money for one male student whose head was shaved and generous donations from the friends and family of Erin, of which she had many. Erin was known to be an extremely caring and vivacious young lady who touched the lives of many people. The hard work and effort put into the event by Erin’,s friends and family is testament to the impact that she had on the lives of the people she loved. Photograph:- Mr Robert Pritchard, Headteacher (far left) Ms Jean Lupton from Riding for the Disabled receiving the cheque from Patrick and Mary Crotty, brother and sister of Erin Crotty Fundraising Event Raises money for Riding for the Disabled Association School volunteer for CAFOD, Joan Smith, visited St Paul`s Catholic Primary School on Monday 27th February 2012 to deliver a special assembly to promote CAFOD`s `Give It Up! for water` campaign. Each year St Paul`s supports CAFOD and Catholic Care`s Good Shepherd Collection through their Lenten fundraising. Cafod’,s Year Of water

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Leeds Catholic Post Page 15 Classified Advertising MARRIAGE CARE Marriage isn’,t always easy —, Counselling can help For an appointment in confidence, with an understanding and experienced listener, please telephone: 0800 389 3801 A Relationship Counselling Service 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 CHURCH LEADERS IN SOLIDARITY WITH YOUNG PEOPLE AND YOUTH WORKERS O n Ash Wednesday (22 February), Senior Church Leaders from eight traditions met together in Bradford College to express in prayer and conversation their solidarity and support for youth workers and young people. They were welcomed by the Students` Union President, Nabeel Hussain, who spoke warmly of his experience of interfaith work. The Church Leaders` prayers admitted a parent generation`s responsibility for the state of the world being handed on to young people. They celebrated the unique value of every person and the `flicker of God- light` in each one. Some of the postcard prayers used by the church leaders are on Twitter atwyec1 ",Thank God for youth workers, young leaders, faithful volunteers. Thank God for music, drama &, paint. Thank God for digital media. Thank God.", ",Thank God for young people: their energy, creativity and courage, excitement, hopes &, dreams of a fairer world, &, impatience with injustice.", H oly Family School at Carlton, near Selby, use the Fridays in Lent to do something special for Cadfod. This year is no exception,. In fact on Friday March 9th not only did they invite Cafod in to talk to them about this years Lenten appeal ‘,Thirst For Change’, they also decided to run a Fairtrade market in chocolate at Lunchtime as well. The whole day was set aside for years 7,8 and 9 and designated a cross curriculum day –, as well as being a non-uniform day. Science, geography and Religious education combined with games quizzes, lectures, debates and drama to explore the problems of Global warming. This they did as they sat in the Shadow of Drax Power Station, adding as it does by the hour to the same problems. The day was facilitate by the Genesis group in the school whose aim is to live out their Catholic beliefs in action not just words. At Lunchtime Mgr Bickers said their Friday Mass and the whole day was rounded off with a special liturgy. Meantime –, not to be out down - some of the Lads were passing the lunchtime hour washing staff cars to raise £,250 for New Football Kit to use on their trip to Spain later in the year to play two Spanish Schools. Fairtrade at Carlton Mgr McQuinn speaking with Bishop Walter. Leaders from WYEC Council meeting young people Mgr Vickers reading the Gospel Headmaster of Carlton School with some students - Drax power station in the background.

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Page 16 Leeds Catholic Post PERSONAL CONNECTIONS It seems to take human beings centuries to catch up and in many areas of practical life we are still living in the age of the great scientist Newton who introduced mechanics and taught us to break things down into their constituent parts in order to understand their operating mechanism and rebuild and put them back together again. The mechanistic model became the key to breaking things down and focussing on constituent parts. In our ordinary everyday affairs from education to administration this has led to ‘,silo’, separate disconnected departmental thinking in government and education broken up into modules. The danger is that this breaking down into parts disintegrates and any sight of the ‘,whole ’,gets lost. I am playing a small back up part in the Diocesan ‘,Foundations in Faith’, an adult education course and at the introductions session was suddenly struck by how the different parts of the ‘,modules’, on ‘,Catechesis’,, ‘,Catholic schools and religious education’,, ‘,interreligious relations’,, ‘,liturgy’,, ‘,philosophy of religion’,, ‘,youth and family ministries’, and ‘,Catholic social teaching’, all knitted tightly together. In essence any module you did would be naturally connected into all the others. They were in fact no separate bits but fully integrated with the result that the ‘,whole is greater than the constituents parts’,. Catechesis starts out with a clear focus on a person the person of Jesus Christ right at the centre of Christian doctrine and experience. We start with the person of Jesus Christ. The schools module focuses on Christian education as promotion of the person. The module on the family insists on the relational model of our faith focussing on the Trinitarian nature of our God. The Inter religious module builds on the recent Bishops document entitled ‘,Meeting God in Friend and Stranger again focussing on personal relations. The Liturgy module takes us into the paschal mysteries by celebrating the life death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ whose relationship with the Father and the Spirit is opened up for our own personal participation in the Eucharist and the Sacraments. And our Catholic Social teaching basically insists on the dignity of the person that absolutely no one should be left out or excluded as we are all members of God’,s family sharing a common parent and invited to become in reality brothers and sisters. As Thomas Aquinas put it in his great ‘,Summa Theologica’,, ‘,We should not despair of anyone in this life considering God’,s almightiness and mercy’,. In other words we should not write any body off or exclude anyone at all every person counts no matter their circumstances or what they have done. Every person matters because they are born human beings children of God. The great Dominican monk Bartolome DE Las Casas insisted on this when he went out on the Spanish boats ‘,discovering’, Latin America. He protested against those who went as conquistadors killing the native Indians arguing that they were humans and had souls. As a result of his protests the Spanish university of Salamanca developed a school of basic legal rights sowing the seeds of human rights legislation many centuries later. We are still struggling with that human rights agenda but the basis is right there in our Catholic teaching. Ours is a religion centred on a person who spell out in his own life death and Resurrection and relations with the Father and the Spirit that every person matters and that the human ‘,network’, should be the focus of all our energies and practices. Putting the human person first in economics, politics, administration and everyday life would really contribute to ‘,participating in the transformation’, of our world. Getting people to see that and agree to it would be a great and encouraging first step John Battle KSG Covenant of Mercy-Kidane Mehret T his year for the second year running, all the Eritrean Catholic Community of the Diocese of Leeds gathered at Holy Rosary Church on the 25th of February, to celebrate the solemn annual feast of Kidane Mehret. This name will be new to you. Literally it means, “,Covenant of Mercy”, which refers to Our Lady, Mary, Mother of God. Yes, when Adam fell, God chose Mary for the salvation of humanity, and she by her ‘,Yes’,, became a Covenant of Mercy. The name Kidane-Mehret refers also to `Our Mother of Unfailing Help`. In the Latin (Western rite) the feast is celebrated on the 24th of June, but according to the Oriental (Eastern rite) the date is similar but the month is different, it is celebrated annually on the 24thof February in all Oriental Catholic Churches, especially in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The first Eritrean immigrants, when they started to live in Leeds, without knowing exactly which was a Roman Catholic church, started to go to an Anglican church. An Eritrean priest, Abba Tesfamichael of the Verona Comboni Missionary Fathers, advised them to change to Holy Rosary Church. Thanks to Fr. Thornton Gerry, the parish priest at the time, the Eritrean community was able to use Holy Rosary for prayer and meditation. Little by little they started to pray in the small chapel of the church and their numbers started to grow. They decided to put the community under the patronage of Kidane Mehret, the same as the Diocese of Asmara, Eritrea. Thanks to Our Lady, on the 25th, we were able to pray, to worship of God and ask the intercession of Our Lady. After 2hrs of Solemn Mass in Ge’,ez, we processed to the “,Grotto”, accompanied by our choirs groups. Finally we were blessed by the Eucharist, the summit and centre of our Catholic Christian Faith. This year there were a lot of pilgrims from near and far in the UK. We had guests from the Eritrean Orthodox Church, English speaking friends from different parishes of Leeds, more than 70 Eritrean Pilgrims from London, about 40 from Birmingham, nearly 15 from Manchester, exactly 20 from Sheffield and 10 from Nottingham. The Eritreans from London they bring with them as a gift for the Holy Rosary Church a precious ",altar cloth",, in front painted an image of Our Lady of Unfailing help. This gift, was presented by Fr. Ephrem Andom from London and it will remain as a permanent memory for us Eritrean Catholic of Leeds. We greatly appreciated the presence of Vicar General Rev. (Mgr) Michael McQuinn on behalf of the Bishop as well as Rev.(Mgr) Philip Moger. The Eritrean Catholic Community of the Diocese of Leeds, are delighted by the large number of present that particular day. One of the English speaking pilgrims from Leeds says, “,Despite the obvious language barrier, it was wonderful to experience the power of God and the enthusiastic praise of the people. They were so welcoming and genuinely pleased to share with us in their great feast, They are a blessing to our communities.”, Good news arrived on the 25th! Eritrea has got a new 4th Diocese. We received a message from the Bishop of Eritrea, that by the good will and permission of Our Holy Father Pope Benedict the XVI a new Diocese is to be founded in the southern part of the country. For all pilgrims this is good news considerably gives a great hope for the evangelization and growth of the faith in Eritrean Catholic history Church. To purchase photographs from the Catholic Post please either go to www.catholicpost.org.uk/form.html or contact Patrick on 01977 556088 If your parish or school are having a special event at which you would like photo coverage in the Catholic Post please contact the Editor, John Grady on 0113 2618022 or john.grady@dioceseofleeds.org.uk You can view the current Catholic Post and previous editions plus all the photographs taken at events online at www.catholicpost.org.uk Fifteen school groups from England and Wales have decided to visit a French religious community this July. The Taize Community, in Burgundy, south-eastern France, welcomes young people from various Christian denominations, and none, who want to spend a week living as part of the Community. Around 80,000 young people participate in these “,international meetings”, every year. This year, Taize has designated two weeks as UK School Weeks at the beginning of July. School and college groups including Year 10 - Year 13 students have been especially invited. Volunteers Two volunteers from Taizé, spent three weeks last November visiting UK schools and two more are coming to the UK in late February. These four young men and women from The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Poland share their own experiences, and talk about how they each came to spend a voluntary year working in the community. Church Leaders So far, around fifteen schools have indicated that they are taking up this invitation. The idea has been supported by church leaders. Bishop John Pritchard, Chairman of the Church of England Board of Education is going with a group this year. He says: “,I very much hope many young people from schools across the UK will join me and other bishops at the Taizé, School Weeks in 2012. The Church of England Board of Education is fully behind this exciting opportunity, believing as we do that a week in Taizé, can be a transformational experience for anyone.”, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’,Connor, Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Westminster has taken groups to Taize. He says: “,I am very pleased that a good number of Catholic schools are taking a group to Taizé, and I know it will be a very fruitful and happy experience. My last visit to Taizé, was with an Anglican bishop-friend and 50 young people, Anglicans and Catholics. I warmly commend the School Weeks in July and hope there will be very many young people who will be able to share in the Taizé, experience which is at the service of the Church.”, Special Prayers Some schools are holding occasional prayers and exchanges in small groups as part of the preparations for their visit: Steve Emerson, head of RE at Chatsmore Catholic High School in West Sussex said: ",It has been the special Friday evening prayers that have generated interest in the main trip for me. If it wasn’,t for them I’,m not sure we would be going.", In South London, students from various schools have been invited to a Friday ",prayer around the cross", in Southwark (Anglican) Cathedral on Friday 24 February. A brother of the community will be there. Contact There is information about the Taizé, School Weeks at: www.taize.fr/schools including information for teachers and group leaders. The response for 2012 has led to three further weeks being planned for 2013, from 30 June - 7 July, 7 - 14 July and 14 - 21 July. Volunteers will again visit the UK in November 2012. To request a school visit, contact UK Coordinator Jane Shields: jane@laloge.co.uk , or 01924 377921. For enquiries about Taizé, School Weeks, contact Brother Paolo: brpaolo@taize.fr News From Taize Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, You Are Cordially Invited To LEEDS CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST ANNE Great George Street Leeds LS2 8BE FOR African &, Caribbean Mass Date: Sunday 29 April 2012 Mass starts promptly at: 1:00pm All are invited Written prayer petitions are collected at start of mass. 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 There will be Thanksgiving/Second collection at the end of the Mass.

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Leeds Catholic Post Page 17 Catholic-Anglican relations were under the spotlight again in March as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams came to Rome to meet with Pope Benedict and celebrate the millennium of the Camaldoli monastic community. It was the Anglican leader’,s second scheduled visit this year, ahead of an invitation to address the Synod of Bishops on the subject of ‘,new evangelisation’, in October. The Archbishop’,s action packed schedule from March 10th to 12th began with a papal audience in the Vatican, followed by the celebration of Vespers together at the church of San Gregorio al Celio and concluded with a visit to the monastery of Montecassino, about 80 miles south of Rome, where St Benedict lived, died and wrote his famous Rule. Speaking there, the Archbishop reflected on the theme of ‘,Monks and Mission: an English perspective’,, while in the Rome church dedicated to St Gregory the Great the Anglican leader explored the importance of ancient monastic wisdom for the modern ecumenical movement. The Camaldoli monastery and hermitage, near the Tuscan hill town of Arezzo in central Italy, were founded at the start of the 11th century by Benedictine monk, St Romuald who was inspired by the ancient monastic traditions of both East and West. They are places of outstanding natural beauty, immersed in a lush forest around the foothills of the Apennine mountain range. With a vocation to draw together both the solitary life of the hermit and the community dimension of a shared faith, the Camaldoli community has increasingly developed this vision as a place of encounter between peoples of different backgrounds and faith traditions. Significantly, the emblem of the community depicts two doves drinking from the same chalice, a symbol of communion within diversity, nourished by a relationship with the one God. Over recent decades, this openness to others has made it into an important centre for dialogue with people of all faiths and different Christian traditions. Since the mid 1500’,s the community has also had an important presence here in Rome at the monastery and church of San Gregorio al Celio –, the place from where St Gregory the Great sent out St Augustine at the end of the sixth century to spread the Christian Gospel among the people of Anglo-Saxon England. In the right hand corner of the church is a small chapel, believed to have been Pope Gregory’,s cell, where the Pope and the Archbishop prayed together, lit two candles and placed a stone Celtic cross from Canterbury, following the celebration of Vespers together. The event marked the third time that successive popes and archbishops of Canterbury have worshipped together in this same place and in his homily Pope Benedict said he hoped their presence at the altar where St Gregory celebrated the Eucharist would act as “,a stimulus for all the faithful”, to pray constantly and work for full visible unity around the table of the Lord. In an exclusive interview with Vatican Radio, Dr Williams told me “,it`s good to touch the soil on which you are nurtured, to honour the memory of St Gregory and St Augustine of Canterbury...and by going back to our common roots, to affirm a communion that is still in us.", He also told me that at the private audience in the Vatican, he and the Pope had discussed “,a shared sense of deep anxiety”, about the situation of Christians in the Middle East and talked “,quite animatedly”, about a recent lecture the Archbishop gave in Geneva on how to reconnect Christian theology with the language of human rights. During a lecture on Sunday evening entitled ‘,Monastic virtues and ecumenical hopes’,, the Anglican leader noted that “,One of the hardest yet most important lessons the different Christian communities today must learn is that they cannot live without each other: no single one of them in isolation possesses the entirety of the Gospel”,. Life in the monastery, he said, seeks to hold together two apparent opposites: a vocation to solitude and a community life of service to others. In a similar way, he insisted, the divided Churches can learn much from the monastic reforms of the past centuries as they try to reconcile the insights of their own individual tradition with the gifts and experiences of their separated brothers and sisters. Speaking in particular of the gifts of the Camaldoli community, Archbishop Williams said the history of monasticism is a history of rediscovery and continuous self-questioning as to whether the simplicity of the Word of God has been overlaid and obscured by our self-centred structures and strategies. Echoing the words of his sermon at the Episcopal Church of St Paul’,s within the Walls on Sunday morning, Dr Williams said just as Jesus drove the traders “,selling religion”, out of the temple in Jerusalem, so the whole Church today must be challenged by the monastic model to clear away the trappings of our self-serving lives and rediscover the reconciling Word of God in our Church and in our wider societies. Philippa M Hitchen Our Rome Correspondent T he Archbishop of Canterbury warns of ‘,disaster’, if assisted suicide is legalised Earlier this month, Rowan Williams has commented that any change in the law on assisted suicide would be a disaster. He said, “,To say that there are certain conditions in which life is legally declared to be not worth living is a major shift in the moral and spiritual atmosphere in which we live.”, Members of the General Synod overwhelming rejected recommendations of the Falconer Report by 284 to 0 votes. House of Lords debate clarifies distinction between law and DPP prosecution policy A debate in the House of Lords with 30 peers saw the Government block attempts from the pro- euthanasia lobby to fetter the DPP in bringing prosecutions for assisted suicide. Lord Wallace explained the respective roles of Parliament and the DPP more clearly. Lord Wallace made it clear that the Government intends to let the DPP get on with his job without interfering. New Website Launched The Care Not Killing Alliance has just redesigned its website: www.carenotkilling.org.uk The website is more interactive, easier to navigate and has better links with social media. Learn how you can get involved in our work and how you can tell your story on end of life issues. CARE NOT KILLING T he media can supply us with any amount of statistics about abortion levels and patterns in the UK and this data certainly has its place in helping us to understand the cultural direction we are taking. But from this perspective, the individual is lost. Rachel`s Vineyard weekend retreats were first developed by the American psychotherapist Theresa Karminski Burke in 1994. Theresa wanted to respond to the profound and long lasting effects she saw her post abortive clients were living with. She recognised the way in which the whole person, spiritually, mentally and psychologically could be harmed in the experience. She took her lead from the consoling words in Jeremiah 31 v13-17 Thus says the Lord: In Ramah is heard the sound of moaning, of bitter weeping! Rachel mourns her children, she refuses to be consoled because her children are no more. Thus says the Lord: Cease your cries of mourning, wipe the tears from your eyes. The sorrow you have shown shall have its reward, says the Lord. There is hope for your future! Mothers, fathers, grandparents, married couples and siblings of aborted children, as well as professionals who have been involved in the abortion industry now attend the weekend retreats in search of peace and inner healing. The weekend programme provides an opportunity through liturgy and discussion for participants to examine their abortion experiences in a safe, compassionate and supportive environment and to be able to identify the ways in which the loss has impacted on their spiritual and psychological health. The aim is to reconcile her/himself to the lost child and to God. With these relationships healed, current relationships can again be fully enjoyed. In his letter ˜,Evangelium Vitae` in 1995, Pope John Paul II encouraged all those affected by abortion to ˜,not give in to discouragement and do not lose hope. Try rather to understand what happened and face it honestly.` For anyone ready to take this step into reconciliation and healing the next weekend will be held in Yorkshire on 23rd-25th March. Further details can be found on http://www.rachelsvineyard.org.uk or by contacting Marene on 07505 904656, or by emailing rachelsvineyard.leeds@hotmail.co.uk. All communications are treated in the strictest confidence. The two Leeds diocese teams have been holding retreats in Yorkshire and London since 2009. We now need help to continue and to expand the work. The retreat teams give their time voluntarily, and costs to the participants is kept to a minimum. Initially, we were enabled to set up in the UK with the help of a generous legacy but we now need further fund raising help. Do you have experience of fund raising, awareness raising, publicity etc? Could you partner us in this area? (Any donations towards the ministry will be gratefully received.) And most importantly, we need people prepared to set aside time to pray for participants as they go through the weekend. Could this be your ministry? If you can help in any way, please contact us at info@rachelsvineyard.org.uk Rachel`s Vineyard Retreats Fairtrade Assembly - Morley St Francis Primary School, near Leeds, is working towards achieving Fairtrade status. As part of Fairtrade fortnight, Class 3 presented an exciting and energetic assembly to inform the rest of the school about the important work of Fairtrade Morley Seeks Fairtrade

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Page 18 Leeds Catholic Post First Friday of the Month SINGLE CATHOLICS (appeals mostly to over 35s) meet for mass at 7.30pm at Our Lady of Lourdes church, 130 Cardigan Rd, Headingley, Leeds LS6 3BJ, and a social afterwards. Events held during the month include walks, meals, cinema, theatre etc. For further details tel Sean (Chair) 07811 468939. Leeds Cathedral 20-35 Group Young people (20-35 years old) who attend St. Anne`s Cathedral in Leeds meet regularly every Thursday for spiritual, social and charitable activities. For further details search Facebook for “,Leeds Cathedral 20-35 Group”,, phone 07816 891872 or 07759 591233 or email leedscathedral20-35@hotmail.co.uk 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 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 Jaguar car showrooms. Fridays 12-30 to 1- 30, and Saturdays 9am-l1am. Monthly all night vigil of reparation in St Marys Horsforth 12th of every month, 9-30pm to 6am . Other times variable. Further details Pat 0113 2582745 Rosary rally Sat Oct 9th 2010 12-30pm Leeds cenotaph, outside art gallery, Headrow. Contact 07747698553/ or 0113 2582745 Leeds Schola Gregoriana The Schola meets on the 2nd Saturday of each month (except August), at 2.00 p.m., for rehearsal, followed by sung Latin (Vigil) Mass in the Ordinary Form, fulfilling the Sunday Obligation. An opportunity to learn and sing Gregorian Chant on a regular basis. Contact Michael Murphy (Director) on 07810 808 530, or Peter Lawley (01423 884274), or Rev. G.M. Parfitt (01756 793794). Days Of Renewal St. Wilfid`s Deanery Day of Renewal led by Fr. Stephen Wright OSB. Second Saturday of the month beginning Sat. March 10th from 12 noon to 4pm. Venue St. Aelred`s Church hall, Woodlands Drive, Harrogate. Please bring a contribution for a shared table lunch. For more information ring Dolores Omand 01423870789 or visit the Diocesan web site www.ccrleeds.org Diary A few moments for thought and prayer ...starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb, I keep my secret still. Fools! For I also had my hour, One far fierce hour and sweet: There was a shout about my ears, And palms before my feet. From The Donkey by G K Chesterton Be Still Deadline: For receipt of material for next edition: April 6th 2012 Parishes receive their copies: April 22nd 2012 Send articles, reports &, pictures: Mr John Grady, 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 April 16th Please note All paid-for advertising is dealt with by: Louise Ward Hinsley Hall, 62 Headingley Lane, Leeds LS6 2BX Telephone: 0113 261 8028 Email: louise.ward@dioceseofleeds.org.uk Your Cath Post Tuesday 20 March 10.30am VGs’, Meeting, Bishop’,s House. Wednesday 21 March 11am Presbyteral Council Meeting, Hinsley Hall Thursday 22 March 11am Chapter Meeting, Leeds Cathedral Saturday 24 March 12 noon Flame Youth Congress, Wembly Arena Wednesday 28 March 10.30am VGs’, Meeting, Bishop’,s House Thursday 29 March 10am Board Meeting, Leeds Trinity University College, Horsforth Friday 30 March 10.30am Mass St Joseph’,s School Moorthorpe Sunday 1 April 10.45am Blessing of Palms and Solemn Mass, Leeds Cathedral Wednesday 4 April 6.30pm Chrism Mass, Leeds Cathedral Thursday 5 April 7pm Mass of the Lord’,s Supper, Leeds Cathedral Friday 6 April 3pm Celebration of the Lord’,s Passion, Leeds Cathedral Bishops Engagements –, March 2012 3.00 p.m. St. Joseph`s, Pontefract Road, Castleford. Every Saturday (Vigil) 6.00 p.m. St. Mary`s, Gibbet Street, Halifax. Every first Sunday 11.30 a.m. Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall, nr Skipton (Sung) 4.00p.m. Holy Spirit, Bath Road, Heckmondwike. Every second Sunday 3.00 p.m. St. Peter`s, Leeds Road, Laisterdyke, Bradford. (Sung) Every third Sunday 4.00p.m. Holy Spirit, Bath Road, Heckmondwike. 5.00p.m. St. Augustine`s, Harehills Road, Harehills, Leeds Every Monday 9.30 a.m. Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall, nr Skipton Every Wednesday 9.30 a.m. Sacred Heart, Broughton, nr Skipton Every Friday 9.30 a.m. Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall, nr Skipton. Every Saturday 9.30 a.m. Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall, nr Skipton. Every first Saturday 11.30a.m. Holy Spirit, Bath Road, Heckmondwike Every fifth Saturday (Vigil) 4.00 p.m. Notre Dame, Leeds University Chaplaincy, St. Mark`s Avenue, Leeds For further information please see the Latin Mass Leeds Blogsite –, www.lmsleeds.blogspot.com Leeds –, Regular Masses in the Extraordinary Form 1962 Missal Rev Michael Killeen RIP F r Michael Killeen was born in Leeds on 11th June 1921. He was educated at St Michael’,s College, Leeds and studied for the priesthood at the Venerable English College. His training began in Rome but with the outbreak of the Second World War the college was evacuated to Stonyhurst in Lancashire where he remained until his ordination, which took place at Leeds Cathedral on 10th February 1946. Between 1946 and 1961 Fr Killeen served in a number of parishes across the diocese: St Joseph’,s, Bradford, St Theresa’,s, Leeds, St Thomas’,, Sheffield, St William’,s, Sheffield and the Blessed Sacrament, Barnsley. In 1961-62 he was briefly priest-in-charge at Christ the King, Rossington and then in the following year Bishop Dwyer gave him his first appointment as a parish priest, to St Boniface, Bentham. In 1965 he moved to St Joseph’,s, Rawmarsh where he remained until 1970 on his appointment to St Matthew’,s at Allerton in Bradford. He returned to South Yorkshire in 1978 and the parish of St Paul’,s, Grimethorpe. He was there in 1980 when the Diocese of Hallam was created and thereafter he was a priest of that diocese. In 1982 Bishop Moverley appointed Fr Killeen as parish priest of St Francis, Sheffield, from where he eventually retired in 1998. In retirement Fr Killeen returned to Leeds and lived with the Little Sisters of the Poor at Mount St Joseph’,s in Headingley. In 2009 he wrote a book entitled ‘,A Tender Love’, which recounted his more than six decades as a priest. Bishop Rawsthorne of Hallam described it as the story of Fr Michael’,s relationship with God ‘,growing and deepening through all the phases of his life, and still growing’,. His death occurred at Mount St Joseph’,s on Thursday, 16 February 2012 just a week after the sixty-sixth anniversary of his ordination. In his book Fr Killeen wrote that during the course of his priesthood he had ‘,changed with the Church to be a servant in God’,s house’,, that he had loved his calling throughout and that by God’,s grace he hoped ‘,to persevere to the end’,. This he did and he will be fondly remembered by many across two dioceses. Fr Killeen’,s funeral took place in Sheffield. His body was received into the church of Sr Francis of Assisi on the evening of Thursday 23rd February, where Requiem Mass was celebrated the following day. The chief concelebrant was the Bishop of Hallam and Bishop Roche was represented by Mgr Michael McQuinn VG and a number of Leeds priests also took part. The homily was preached by Fr Leonard May and the Mass was followed by the interment of Fr Killeen’,s remains at the city’,s Crookes Cemetery. On Saturday 3rd March the community at Mount St Joseph’,s, Leeds gathered for a Memorial Mass celebrated by their chaplain, Fr Dan Harrison during which his immediate predecessor Fr Gerry Creasey paid tribute to Fr Killeen. May he rest in peace. A Letter on Marriage from the President and Vice-President of the Bishops’, Conference of England and Wales Dear Brothers and Sisters in Jesus Christ, This week the Coalition Government is expected to present its consultation paper on the proposed change in the legal definition of marriage so as to open the institution of marriage to same-sex partnerships. Today we want to put before you the Catholic vision of marriage and the light it casts on the importance of marriage for our society. The roots of the institution of marriage lie in our nature. Male and female we have been created, and written into our nature is this pattern of complementarity and fertility. This pattern is, of course, affirmed by many other religious traditions. Christian teaching fills out this pattern and reveals its deepest meaning, but neither the Church nor the State has the power to change this fundamental understanding of marriage itself. Nor is this simply a matter of public opinion. Understood as a lifelong commitment between a man and a woman, and for the creation and upbringing of children, marriage is an expression of our fundamental humanity. Its status in law is the prudent fruit of experience, for the good of the spouses and the good of the family. In this way society esteems the married couple as the source and guardians of the next generation. As an institution marriage is at the foundation of our society. There are many reasons why people get married. For most couples, there is an instinctive understanding that the stability of a marriage provides the best context for the flourishing of their relationship and for bringing up their children. Society recognises marriage as an important institution for these same reasons: to enhance stability in society and to respect and support parents in the crucial task of having children and bringing them up as well as possible. The Church starts from this appreciation that marriage is a natural institution, and indeed the Church recognises civil marriage. The Catholic understanding of marriage, however, raises this to a new level. As the Catechism says: ‘,The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, by its nature is ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring, this covenant between baptised persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament.’, (para.1601) These rather abstract words are reflected however imperfectly in the experience of married couples. We know that at the heart of a good marriage is a relationship of astonishing power and richness, for the couple, their children, their wider circle of friends and relations and society. As a Sacrament, this is a place where divine grace flows. Indeed, marriage is a sharing in the mystery of God’,s own life: the unending and perfect flow of love between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We know, too, that just as God’,s love is creative, so too the love of husband and wife is creative of new life. It is open, in its essence, to welcoming new life, ready to love and nurture that life to its fullness, not only here on earth but also into eternity. This is a high and noble vision, for marriage is a high and noble vocation. It is not easily followed. But we are sure that Christ is at the heart of marriage, for his presence is a sure gift of the God who is Love, who wants nothing more than for the love of husband and wife to find its fulfilment. So the daily effort that marriage requires, the many ways in which family living breaks and reshapes us, is a sharing in the mission of Christ, that of making visible in the world the creative and forgiving love of God. In these ways we understand marriage to be a call to holiness for a husband and wife, with children recognised and loved as the gift of God, with fidelity and permanence as the boundaries which create its sacred space. Marriage is also a crucial witness in our society, contributing to its stability, its capacity for compassion and forgiveness and its future, in a way that no other institution can. In putting before you these thoughts about why marriage is so important, we also want to recognise the experience of those who have suffered the pain of bereavement or relationship breakdown and their contribution to the Church and society. Many provide a remarkable example of courage and fidelity. Many strive to make the best out of difficult and complex situations. We hope that they are always welcomed and helped to feel valued members of our parish communities. The reasons given by our government for wanting to change the definition of marriage are those of equality and discrimination. But our present law does not discriminate unjustly when it requires both a man and a woman for marriage. It simply recognises and protects the distinctive nature of marriage. Changing the legal definition of marriage would be a profoundly radical step. Its consequences should be taken seriously now. The law helps to shape and form social and cultural values. A change in the law would gradually and inevitably transform society’,s understanding of the purpose of marriage. It would reduce it just to the commitment of the two people involved. There would be no recognition of the complementarity of male and female or that marriage is intended for the procreation and education of children. We have a duty to married people today, and to those who come after us, to do all we can to ensure that the true meaning of marriage is not lost for future generations. With every blessing Most Reverend V. Nichols Most Reverend P. Smith, 11th March 2012

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Leeds Catholic Post Page 19 S ixty-five pupils from Catholic primary schools in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Wetherby, Bishop Thornton and Tadcaster are taking part in a new Young Gifted and Talented scheme at St John Fisher Catholic High School in Harrogate. The initiative was launched in January specifically to support the academic needs of Year 5 and 6 children identified as gifted and talented by Head Teachers of the primaries. The 10-week, after-school courses are tutored by St John Fisher’,s heads of departments and subject specialists. The primary school children have been enjoying a series of workshops include English, Maths, Science and Art. With workshops full across the board, St John Fisher is already planning a summer programme that includes additional subjects such as French, web design, PE,dance, singing, brass and music composition. Courses cost around £,4/child per session. Darren Roberts, who is coordinating the courses, says. “,We have extended the number of subjects in the summer programme, so that more ‘,more able’, Year 5 and 6 pupils from more schools can benefit. We are working closely with local primary school G&,T Coordinators to identify those most suitable and some of the summer workshops are already full! “, St John Fisher Headteacher Paul Jackson, a maths specialist who is tutoring one of the mathematics groups, explains, “,Providing specialist tuition to support our colleagues in associated primaries ensures that the primary curriculum meets the needs of all learners. Children who have been identified as gifted and talented often enjoy being stretched academically, but primary schools are not always able to provide resources in specialist subjects. We are piloting the scheme with our associated primaries, but may open up places to other schools in the future.”, More courses for Young Gifted and Talented at SJF Morley St Francis Primary School, near Leeds enjoyed celebrating World Book Day. The whole school participated in a variety of Alice in Wonderland themed activities, ending the day with a Mad Hatter`s Tea Party. Alice in Morley Visit by local MP S peaking after his recent visit to St John’,s school for the Deaf, Boston Spa, Alec Shelbrooke MP described his morning as ‘,inspirational’,. This was Mr Shelbrooke’,s first visit to the school and began with a tour of classes. Accompanied by Head Teacher, Ann Bradbury. Mr Shelbrooke spoke to staff and pupils in both the primary and secondary departments Later, Mr Shelbrooke was able to review the progress of the building work that had been completed on the school’,s new Expressive Arts Resource. Here, Mrs Bradbury explained how drama helps deaf children to develop and improve their listening and speaking skills. Before leaving, Mr Shelbrooke also heard of the school’,s exciting plans to develop a multi sensory peace garden and music technology room in the coming months. S tudents from St. Joseph’,s Catholic Primary School, Castleford, recently organised a fundraising week with bun sales and a Mad Hair Day for The Prince of Wales Hospice, Pontefract. The proceeds of the events will go towards sponsorship for Amanda Ingram, the facilities manager at the hospice, who will be taking part in a 4 day trek through the Sahara in March, to raise money for the hospice. While she is there, she will also be working with other volunteers to help reroof a hospice in Marrakesh. Amanda said: ‘,I want to improve the lives of patients and staff at the hospice in Marrakesh whilst at the same time raising funds to support our own hospice here in Pontefract’,. Amanda has already well exceeded her target of £,1600 and has promised to return to St. Joseph’,s to tell the pupils all about the trek. The Mad Hair Day was particularly enjoyed by all the pupils and in total they managed to raise £,477. Amanda declared: ‘,I’,m absolutely amazed by the amount of money St. Joseph’,s pupils have managed to raise. The students are all fundraising champions!’, If you would like to contribute towards the £,2.2m needed to operate the hospice each year, please contact the hospice fundraising team on 01977 –, 708868. The Road to Marrakesh

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Page 20 Rite of Election &, Affirmation 2012 My brothers and sisters, at the beginning of Lent, we look forward to celebrating the life-giving mysteries of our Lord’,s suffering, death, and resurrection at Easter. These Elect and the Candidates, whom we bring with us to the Easter sacraments, will look to us for an example of Christian renewal. Let us pray to the Lord for them and for ourselves, that we may be renewed by one another’,s efforts and together come to share the joys of Easter. Intercessions for the Elect &, Candidates On February 26th, the First Sunday of Lent, more than four hundred people from thirty two parishes, gathered with Bishop Arthur Roche at Leeds Cathedral Church of St Anne for the Rite of Election and Affirmation. This liturgical celebration is for two groups of people: firstly the catechumens who are the adults and older children, who will be baptised, confirmed and who will receive the Eucharist for the first time at Easter, secondly the candidates who are already baptised and who will be received into full communion with the Catholic Church at Easter. More than 120 catechumens and candidates participated in the celebration and they were accompanied by their sponsors, families, parish priests and catechists. The Rites of Election &, Affirmation began with the Liturgy of the Word and the homily from Bishop Roche. Bishop Roche spoke about how Jesus comes in search of us every day of our lives. Just as Jesus called Levi the tax-collector to follow him he calls each one of us to turn away from sin and believe in the Gospel. Jesus supports us on our journey in faith and the Holy Spirit leads and guides to bring us home. After the homily the catechumens were called individually by name and invited to come forward with their sponsor to meet Bishop Roche and to inscribe their name in the Book of the Elect. From this point the catechumens are known as The Elect. The next part of the Rite consisted of the candidates being presented to the Bishop. The sponsors were asked to affirm that the candidates are ready to be received into full communion with the Catholic Church. The candidates were called forward to meet Bishop Roche in parish groups. The celebration continued with the intercessions for the Elect and the Candidates and concluded with the blessing and dismissal. Throughout the celebration members of the cathedral choir led the singing of well known hymns and psalms. After the Rites had concluded there were plenty of photo opportunities around the cathedral followed by refreshments in Wheeler Hall. 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 Mgr Wilson watches Candidate sign the Book

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