"I stood there in the Church and didn't know what to do. I was listening to this lament in a very public place. I wanted to leave, but then I thought I would be seen to be a perpetrator or outed as a victim. So, I sat down and spent the rest of the Mass angry…," said one man, who wrote to me.

The man says he felt used, adding, "I am so sick of apologies; they are just another form of victimisation."

This is the first of a series of stories I received following my initial piece in CathNews.

A nurse also wrote, recalling that at the end of the Mass, she and the other reader sat with the reader asked to lead the lament—without any preparation—and processed what it all meant.

"A truly professional organisation would have offered support to anyone in the congregation impacted by abuse because you never know who is sitting there and what they are experiencing, but there was nothing."

Another person wrote: "The Sunday Mass is no longer a safe place when I am made guilty of the sins of paedophiles, and church leaders who have not led."

A younger person recounted the experience of being "personally blamed for the crimes that others did in my country" during her grandparent's generation.

"To me, the lament does the same, and I know that others also were upset; I just wonder how those who were abused felt?"

Communications blunder

"They did old-form communications, focusing mainly on content rather than modern messaging that also considers the impact," wrote a communications professional.

Nowadays, there is also more than one channel to deliver a suitable message.

Given that most Catholics no longer regularly attend Sunday Mass, using the Mass as a key communications channel is designed for the village; it is pre-digital and shows that if the bishops receive communication advice, the advisors must up their game.

The response I received to my original piece from clergy has been supportive.

Several wrote expressing their distaste for what they had to do and how they had to do it. Some expressed surprise that no network of support was offered.

Having received the material before Sunday Mass, one priest offered pastoral feedback to his bishop on the content and strategy, but the priest says his advice was not taken.

Other priests also wrote saying they modified the lament or ignored it all together.

Sunday Mass

Sunday Mass is a space where the divine and the human meet, a place beyond the pragmatic.

Understanding the nature of liturgical rites and how they function theologically is the work of liturgical theologians, not a dive into the esoteric.

Using a biblical lament during a Sunday Mass is never appropriate.

Biblical laments are placed within penitential services as part of the healing process.

Accordingly, penitential laments change in their structure, language and purpose according to who is lamenting and what is being lamented:

• I lament that I have done this,
• I lament that others have done this to me,
• We lament that we as a people and nation have done this.

Laments should not be used as a cheap ‘apologetic hocus-pocus'.

It also appears that the bishops' liturgical advisors and theologians must up their game.

Representative or actual guilt and accountability

In making these comments, distinguishing between representative guilt, actual guilt and accountability must be more carefully considered.

How do the current group of bishops, congregational leaders and school leaders/Boards carry the representative guilt and accountability for their predecessors' lapses in moral judgment when they do not carry the actual guilt or personal accountability?

Is it reasonable to project representative guilt or accountability onto the general population with little knowledge of what went on, who have had no part in decision-making and those without agency?

The reality of abuse will be the defining historical term of this period of the Church.

Institutional abuse must be addressed on many levels because it is primarily a human reality; and it is through addressing human needs, decision-making and the human experience of being abused that the institution can find a new way of operating.

An approach to moving forward

In order for everyone to move forward with their lives I'd like to suggest three conversations may be appropriate:

• ask survivors what an authentic act of penance or repentance would look like;
• ask survivors and parishioners what a genuine act of restitution for survivors might look like;
• ask survivors, parishioners, and perpetrators what a healing form of public reconciliation might look like.

In these conversations, a synodal approach to the reality of abuse might uncover and communicate more than an apology ever can.

Importantly, these conversations must not be forced on survivors, Sunday Mass-goers, or perpetrators; they should not be seen as conversations that solve the problem so everyone can move on.

Healing

The function of the Royal Commission was to listen, judge, and act by making recommendations. The Royal Commission helps by exposing issues but cannot heal because it is a legal instrument, not a theological one.

Similarly, political reform will only change the functions around abuse prevention, not abuse's ontology.

In contrast, the Christian Church possesses the tools to address abuse beyond legality and functional prevention, and the Church must offer more than a change in the management of abuse prevention.

The Church must forge new pathways to healing and reconciliation by applying the theological truths of faith, hope, and love through our sacramental system and the mercy of the Gospel.

The way forward for Christians is ultimately theological and liturgical because that is how we frame and understand salvation, life, death, meaning and purpose.

Similarly, a radical (from the roots) reform of the exercise of authority in the church needs to be addressed theologically if the experience and complexity of institutional abuse are to be transformative of institutional leadership.

• Dr Joe Grayland is an assistant lecturer in the Department of Liturgy at the University of Wuerzburg (Germany). He has also been a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Palmerston North (New Zealand) for more than 30 years.

In a letter that needed to be short, it is hard to know what language the bishops could have used to make their apology more comprehensive than it is.

Certainly, the apology needed to acknowledge, above all, Church leaders' own failures for inadequate handling of offenders and inadequate support for victims/survivors.

But as leaders, it also fell to them to apologise, as far as possible, for all offending within the Church.

In their own way, I think the bishops were trying to do all this, while acknowledging that "words alone can never replace what was stolen and can never fully restore that which was destroyed."

Responsibility and abuse

But when Joe claims that the bishops fail to take "full responsibility" he seems to mean "sole responsibility," because he says that, "through the apology and the lament", Sunday congregations were being "co-opted into sharing responsibility for their leaders' actions" and called to "become complicit in the leaders' sins".

Surely, the apology needed to encompass the failures of bishops, priests, religious and laity, because anything less would not have respected what victims/survivors have been telling us.

Joe's claim that using the occasion of a Sunday Mass was itself "a subtle form of abuse", and that it had "no rightful place in the Sunday liturgy" is surely unrealistic.

Real life

This was not the time for esoteric distinctions between laments, symbols of shame, public and private repentance, etc. Liturgy has to be incarnate in real life!

Real life includes: the right of victims/survivors and the Catholic people to hear the apology as directly as possible and not just via public media.

In real life, the time when most Catholics gather is at Sunday Masses. In the course of every year, special causes are occasionally featured without prejudice to the Sunday's primary meaning.

In real life, a letter that needs to be short is never going to say everything that everybody wants it to say.

And in real life, most sexual offending occurs in homes or among relatives, and most vocations to priesthood and religious life come from homes. The apology and the lament were an occasion for all of us.

I think our congregations would have been pleased to hear the bishops' apology, and appreciated the opportunity to participate in a form of communal lament, and would have recognised the need for it to be on a Sunday.

• Copy supplied
• Bishop Peter Cullinane (pictured) is Bishop Emeritus, Diocese of Palmerston North.

The inability to take full responsibility for these decisions has been a constant complaint of survivors and victims of abuse.

However, in this action, the episcopal and religious leaders commit a liturgical abuse of the Sunday Assembly by calling them to become complicit in the leaders' sins.

The majority of Mass-going Catholics—laity and clergy alike—are not complicit in the hierarchy's (bishops, congregational leaders, and functionaries) failures of moral judgment, nor have most of them perpetrated crimes of abuse against victims within the Church.

Nonetheless, they are co-opted, through the apology and lament, into sharing responsibility for their leaders' actions.

Consistently, victims and survivors of abuse have complained that their voices have not been heard and that they have been ignored or minimised.

Last Sunday, the voice of the liturgical assembly—and each believer's right to participate without coercion in the Mass—was added to the number of those who have suffered at the hands of a leadership that seems incapable of real change.

The Litany of Lament

The Litany of Lament used during the Mass was a subtle form of abuse because it demands that the Sunday Assembly participate in an act of repentance that has no rightful place in the Sunday liturgy.

Positioned either in the middle of the Liturgy of the Word (in place of the homily), it disrupts the focus on Scripture.

Placed at the end of Mass, it undermines the Assembly's commissioning for evangelisation. If deemed necessary (which is questionable), it should have been integrated into the Preparation Rites as a Penitential Rite, where corporate sin is acknowledged and forgiven.

However, placing this form of litany with its antiphonal structure and form of words in place of the Penitential Rite would be inappropriate because the Penitential Rite's structure and theology are qualitatively different from the Rite of Penance and Reconciliation, from which the Litany of Lament has been derived.

A Litany of Lament

The litany of lament used on Sunday is a biblical form of prayer used by individuals and communities when they are overwhelmed by exhaustion, confusion, numbness, or despair due to their actions.

Its purpose is to process grief in God's presence, not, as the bishops erroneously suggested, to "channel anger" or "rekindle our thirst for justice in an unjust world."

Litanies of lament function differently depending on whether they are a lament of repentance or penance.

A lament of repentance is used before a lament of penance, but both are used by individuals who have directly sinned to process their grief at their decisions and actions as they kneel at the feet of those they have sinned against.

Penitents use these types of litanies before they receive individual absolution.

These litanies are not for bystanders

Using these forms of litanies in a penitential service makes sense.

Using them in the Sunday Mass—without a clear understanding of what the litany is supposed to achieve—shows that those responsible for this do not understand the nature of forgiveness in the Eucharistic liturgy or the nature of reconciliation in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, where restitution and a firm commitment to change are essential.

Symbols of shame and repentance

Biblical acts of lamentation are accompanied by symbols and gestures of shame—rituals such as rending garments, sitting in ashes, or walking barefoot through the city.

These practices articulate repentance that comes through penance.

Potent symbols speak louder than apologies, which have become hollow acts of avoidance. Symbolic acts of repentance might include tearing episcopal garments and mitres or breaking episcopal staffs.

Penance might show Church leaders sitting humbly on the ground outside each cathedral in front of survivors and the wider Catholic community, publicly asking for forgiveness. They would wait in silence until survivors and the baptised community were prepared to offer forgiveness.

Such profound acts of penance, followed by visible restitution, could culminate in a public sacramental reconciliation.

Given the depth of sin and the severity of the crimes, symbolic actions must resonate with the ontological violence inflicted to address the shame honestly.

Public sin, public reconciliation

Failures in moral judgement and crimes against innocents demand rigorous theological reflection.

The Church's ancient tradition of public forgiveness for public sins offers a framework for this reflection. It recognises how sin and crime corrode not just the individual but the broader community of the Church and society.

Public sins, such as moral failings or abuse, require public acknowledgement and forgiveness because they are experienced and known publicly.

The processes of restitution, forgiveness, and reconciliation must also unfold publicly. Within the Church, this is liturgical and ultimately sacramental.

The scandal of abuse has deeply shamed the Body of Christ.

Addressing this shame requires a healing process that names it explicitly and offers it to the Father through Christ.

Without such an approach, shame and violence will continue to burden the entire community.

Healing the communion of the Church is imperative because victims and perpetrators alike are members of the Body of Christ.

• Dr Joe Grayland is currently an assistant lecturer in the Department of Liturgy, University of Wuerzburg (Germany). He is priest of the Catholic Diocese of Palmerston North (New Zealand) for nearly 30 years.

They said that some of the earlier responses and solutions were ill-advised and had devastating consequences. Along with the sins and crimes of the priests, religious and lay workers, they are left full of shame.

The bishops said they have heard how the response of Church leaders was inadequate, inappropriate and, in many cases, added to survivors' grief and trauma.

Renewing their sincere and unconditional apology to victims of abuse in the Catholic Church, the bishops acknowledged that words can never replace what was stolen or fully restore what was destroyed - and to this end they continue to reflect on the lessons of the Royal Commission.

Looking back, the bishops say they cannot change the past, but they can help shape the future.

The Sunday assembly also engaged in a Litany of Lament.

Shaping the future

"Starting from the place of shame and disgrace, but emboldened by hope, we as the faith community must continue working to ensure that history does not repeat itself" the bishops wrote.

They say they have made significant changes to their procedures and protocols, the prime among them being that the police are best placed to investigate criminal allegations.

They also pledge to work closely with survivors, stating "We honour them for their courage" and that they are "striving to create better opportunities to assist those who have been harmed". They have learned that "safeguarding is everyone's responsibility".

The bishops conclude their letter by quoting from Pope Francis - "Looking back to the past, no effort to beg pardon and to seek to repair the harm done will ever be sufficient.

"Looking ahead to the future, no effort must be spared to create a culture able to prevent such situations from happening, but also to prevent the possibility of their being covered up and perpetuated."

PM's historic appology

The NZ Bishops' statement follows on from last week's historic apology by New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, acknowledging the abuse suffered by survivors in state and faith-based care, marking a significant step toward healing for many affected.

The Prime Minister's emotional apology underlines a national commitment to accountability and reform.

Source

• NZ Catholic Bishops Conference (supplied)

The 16-page pastoral letter, 'A Call For A New Era In Malawi', was read out in Catholic churches last Sunday.

The letter lists a number of ills afflicting the nation. It echoes issues raised in a recent civil society petition covering the public service, nepotism and the lack of transformational leadership.

Malawi's Muslim community also noted the letter fails to address the arrest of a Catholic priest who with several others has been connected with the recent murder of McDonald Masambuka. The murder victim had albinism.

Albinos are often targeted by witch doctors throughout sub-Saharan Africa. They are murdered for their body parts which are used in black magic rituals.

"We feel the Catholic Church could have assured Malawians, through this pastoral letter, of measures they have put in place to protect people with albinism," the Muslim Council of Malawi stated on Sunday.

"The nation may wish to know that Machinga district has registered the highest number of killings of people with albinism.

"We feel that the Catholic Church could have included the missing and brutal murders of people with albinism," they continued, noting Muhosha had been arrested.

Although their pastoral letter did not address albinism, the bishops have responded separately to Masambuka's murder and distanced themselves from the accused priest.

"The Catholic Church defends the sanctity of life at any point of a person's life and the killing of albinos is a direct violation of the sanctity of life.

"To our brothers and sisters living with albinism, we assure you that we continue to support, defend and see to it that you are protected by all means," the bishops said.

"As Catholic bishops in Malawi, we express our deepest sympathy to the family and relatives of McDonald Masambuka and all relatives of victims of a similar nature."

Source

• Crux Now
• All Africa
• Image: The Guardian Nigeria

The letter, titled, "Be Merciful", notes the interest in the jubilee Year of Mercy throughout the Catholic world.

The bishops state that "as a way of life, mercy directs our outlook and our expectations, reflecting a particular view of the world and other people".

The "merciful do not ignore or minimise wrong-doing".

Rather, the merciful "seek to understand before judging, and, wherever possible, are ready to excuse".

"The strength of gentleness empowers the merciful.

"The way of mercy flows from the sacred scriptures that tell of God's love for our world - a love revealed above all in the gift of Jesus who came not to condemn but to save, not to weigh down but to lift up and set free."

The bishops state that mercy is a personal choice, but it is not an easy one.

"I have to forgo my ‘right' to be annoyed, to be angry, to want revenge!

"Yet it is by letting go of these ‘rights' that we find true joyfulness in living.

"As this Holy Year of Mercy continues, we should each give ourselves generously to the sacrament of Reconciliation, seeing it as an opportunity for wholehearted thanksgiving no less than for sincere sorrow.

"This is not an encounter to be feared, but rather a home-coming to anticipate with joy.

"You will find a ready welcome from any priest you approach."

The bishops note that "the merciful are people in touch with their own weakness and therefore they do not expect perfection in others".

The bishops explain that being "merciful to me" is not a call to "go easy on me", "but rather a plea for help to become better, stronger, more capable of contributing to life".

The bishops encourage people to visit diocesan cathedrals with friends, family and other parishioners and to pass through the holy doors of mercy.

These doors "reveal a path to the risen, glorified Christ waiting to welcome you - whatever your failings - into the presence of love, the presence of mercy".

Sources

• Tauranga Catholic
• Image: Reconciliation.org

In the letter, Bishop Barry Jones stated that the plan for the diocese is a "single plan" including the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament.

The letter sets out the goals in terms of time frame and building standards to be achieved.

The strategy is to focus on getting parishioners back into churches where they are closed as soon as possible.

It is hoped to advance the planning for new churches where churches have been demolished.

Approval has been given for a number of projects to proceed.

These projects include temporary repairs for St Anne's church, Woolston, and St Peter's church, Beckenham.

Work on St Anne's has begun with St Peter's to follow on shortly.

The work required for St Matthew's, Bryndwr, has been put out to tender and is soon to start.

Plans to reopen three closed heritage churches are well underway.

The letter expresses a hope that work will start on St John the Evangelist church, Leeston, in early spring.

When the necessary consents have been received, work will commence on St Mary's church, Hokitika.

With knowledge gained from these two heritage buildings, strengthening plans are in place for St Joseph's church, Temuka, which is hoped to be reopened in twelve months time.

All the necessary consents have been received for the work to extend St Bernadette's church at Hornby and to complete the necessary repairs.

The letter states that building five new churches is being investigated.

Initial plans for St Mary's church, New Brighton, have been presented and St Patrick's, Lincoln, and St Mary's, Pleasant Point, are hoping to do the same in the near future.

St Joseph's, Papanui, is seeking expressions of interest from qualified organisations to draw up comprehensive documentation for the diocese.

In Mairehau the team from St Francis of Assisi has shared its initial thoughts and concepts.

Sources

• Diocese of Christchurch
• Full text of Pastoral Letter
• Image: Diocese of Christchurch

French and Spanish bishops released a pastoral letter setting out the possibilities of evangelisation of those travelling the route.

The bishops admit that 70 per cent of those walking the Camino are not religious pilgrims.

Travel companies are moving in to make the trip "a cultural and tourist route like any other".

To counter this, the bishops suggested that parishes along the Way of St James should do more to support the pilgrims and strengthen their faith.

"Go out along the route to evangelise, welcome all you meet, invite them to visit your churches, explain to them the faith and the art of your altars, open a space for dialogue, take care of them personally," the letter said.

Continue reading

A pastoral letter from the bishops titled "Don't mess with marriage" was sent home with students of Catholic high schools in several archdioceses, including Hobart.

It stressed both respect for all and respect for the unique nature of marriage as a union of man and a woman.

Rodney Croome, national director of Australian Marriage Equality, stated the booklet is illegal under Tasmanian law.

His group cited laws that bar offensive conduct, inciting hatred, and publishing notices that promote or express discrimination.

"The booklet likely breaches the Anti-Discrimination Act and I urge everyone who finds it offensive and inappropriate, including teachers, parents and students, to complain to the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner," Mr Croome said.

But Archbishop Julian Porteous of Hobart said: "A document defending the current law in our nation could hardly be called discrimination."

"The Catholic Church in Tasmania is exercising its right to freedom of opinion, just as opponents to the Church's views on marriage are also exercising their rights," the archbishop said.

Mr Croome said the distribution of the pastoral letter to Catholic school students was "completely inappropriate", and that the Catholic Church had enlisted young people "as the couriers of its prejudice".

He said that the booklet harms homosexual students, and that he had received several complaints from Catholic school teachers about the booklet distribution.

Archbishop Porteous said many parishioners and Catholic parents have spoken positively about the pastoral letter.

He added that the pastoral letter respects diversity and "does not advocate hatred or vilification of people with a same sex attraction".

Sources

• Catholic News Agency
• Image: Guilford Young College

The decision to publish and distribute the "Don't Mess with Marriage" booklet in Catholic schools across Australia has angered Fr Terry Fitzpatrick.

"I feel angry and disappointed, but not surprised, that the hierarchy of the Catholic Church would chose such a desperate measure to influence the debate on marriage equality," he told the LGBTI publication the Star Observer.

"It is definitely a sign that they are becoming increasingly despairing and worried that they are on the losing side."

Fr Fitzpatrick incurred a suspension in Brisbane archdiocese in 2009, after his involvement with a breakaway parish.

This month, he condemned those in the Church responsible for the marriage letter for imposing their religious belief upon others and using children to disseminate their political message.

"They see the last vestiges of their power and influence rapidly disappearing into the sand," he said.

"They refuse to believe that we live in a secular state and not a religious one where one religion's laws apply to everyone regardless of their beliefs.

"They cling to the role of being the moral guardian of the nation when this serves neither society nor the Church."

Marriage equality advocates have described the letter as harmful to children, and have asked Catholic educators to let children hear both sides of the debate if they have already received the letter.

Through his work with a Brisbane charity to support the homeless, Fr Fitzpatrick has witnessed the harm suffered by the LGBTI community through discrimination.

Fr Fitzpatrick said organisations and bodies within the Christian faith have contributed significantly to sexual persecution and should respond to the issue of same-sex marriage with compassion, not further discrimination.

The priest said marriage has been an evolving as a civil and religious institution throughout history.

"It will continue to evolve and soon we will see in this country marriage laws that will include everyone."

Sources

• Star Observer
• Brisbane Times
• Image: Brisbane Times

Released by the bishops' Commission for Family, Youth and Life, the letter highlights the meaning of marriage and also spells out implications of redefining marriage.

The bishops state that in issuing the letter, they want to engage with the debate, present the Church's teaching to the faithful and "explain the position of the Catholic faithful to the wider community".

The letter came in the wake of the recent referendum in Ireland and statements by Australian politicians that they plan to introduce same-sex marriage legislation.

In the bishops' letter, the dignity of every person is affirmed, including those who experience same-sex attraction.

"They must be treated with respect, sensitivity, and love."

But the bishops critique the notion that marriage is "nothing more than a commitment to love".

"On this view, marriage is essentially an emotional tie, enhanced by public promises and consensual sexual activity."

In the Church's view, marriage includes an emotional union, but it goes further than that.

"It involves a substantial bodily and spiritual union of a man and a woman."

Among the letter's warnings about the consequences of redefining marriage are possible threats to freedom of conscience, belief and worship.

". . . [P]eople who adhere to the perennial and natural definition of marriage will be characterised as old-fashioned, even bigots, who must answer to social disapproval and the law."

If "civil law ceases to define marriage as traditionally understood, it will be a serious injustice and undermine that common good for which the civil law exists", the letter stated.

In a press release, Archbishop Anthony Fisher warned of the grave injustice of legitimising "the false assertion that there is nothing distinctive about a man and a woman, a father or a mother".

"Children have a right to grow up with their natural mother and father, where possible," he said.

"Surely there are other ways of honouring the friendships of same-sex attracted and other people without further deconstructing marriage and the family," Archbishop Fisher said.

Sources

• Sydney Catholic Archdiocese
• Image: Daily Telegraph

This information is contained in a Pastoral Letter from the New Zealand Catholic Bishops summarising the main themes that emerged in the responses received in the questionnaire on families they sent out in October last year.

Other themes to emerge were:

• The Church's definition of family implicit in the questions lacks understanding of the diverse nature of modern families.
• Sexual abuse by clergy has undermined people's faith in priests and bishops as teachers in matters of sexual morality. Many questioned the right of celibate men to "prescribe" what is right or wrong for married couples.

The Bishops say that in both online and other submissions, gratitude and appreciation were expressed for the opportunity to contribute.

The say a number of people were courageous in sharing personal stories "which were difficult and painful, or the difficulties they have with various aspects of the Church's teaching."

Others expressed their support for the teaching and wrote about how they tried to be faithful to it in their families.

"We were deeply impressed by the way in which people are striving to live according to the gospel, whatever the circumstances of their lives," they say.

The questionnaire was part of the preparation for the III Extraordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.

The Bishops have sent these findings to the Holy See, and are anxious to know if what people across the world are saying is truly being heard by those who will organise the Synod Assembly.

Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri is the Secretary-General of the Synod of Bishops, and it is his office which is responsible for analysing the submissions on the Preparatory Document.

He said in an interview that the responses show "much suffering, especially by those who feel excluded or abandoned by the Church because they find themselves in a state of life that does not correspond to the Church's doctrine and discipline".

The Synod of Bishops will take place in Rome in early October. Archbishop John Dew in his capacity as President of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference will be attending.

Read the Pastoral Letter

Source

• NZCBC
• Image: 4BP.blogspot.com

In his pastoral letter the Bishop invited parishes to open their churches on a Wednesday evenings so people can gather and simply "'be still' with the Lord" before the Blessed Sacrament

PASTORAL LETTER FOR THE FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT 2014

The Light is On for you

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ

These Sacred Forty Days invite us to step aside from "ordinary time" and to allow God to work silently within us so that we can approach the great Easter Festival with hearts and minds and lives renewed.

In his most recent Encyclical on "The Joy of the Gospel" Pope Francis reminds us that the mission of the Church in every generation is to be bearers to all people of the Good News of the nearness of the Reign of God. However, he also warns us that this privilege should not lead to frenzied activity. Often it is better simply to slow down, in order to see and listen to others, to stop rushing from one thing to another, and to remain with someone who is encountering difficulties.

Even in comparatively wealthy countries, like our own, the hearts of many people are gripped by fear and desperation, and the joy of living fades. Young people at times fear they have nothing for which to live.

The Church is called to be the House of the Father, with doors always open wide. One consequence of this is that, wherever possible, our church doors should be open each day so that if someone, moved by the Spirit, comes there looking for God, he or she will not find a closed door.

With this in mind also, I have asked parishes to see if they can plan to be open for one hour on each of the Wednesday evenings of Lent, with the Blessed Sacrament exposed, so that people can come simply to "be still" with the Lord.

I encourage you to advertise this fact to friends, and also in local media outlets, so that all will know that The Light is On for You as Easter draws near. For Catholics too it can be an opportunity for Reconciliation or Confession. The key point however is that THE DOORS ARE OPEN AND ALL ARE WELCOME.

+Patrick Dunn

Bishop of Auckland