By our “Roving” Correspondent

On the last day of November, our clergy descended on Bretargh Holt near Kendal, the centre run by the Salesian Sisters. As Fr Bede Moore put it on his arrival from West Cumbria, “We must be keen, we’re here early”. Almost sixty priests and deacons gathered to hear Fr John Wilson lead them in a study day on “Cherishing Life,” the moral theology document issued by our Bishops, last summer. (July issue of The Voice). Fr Wilson, a priest of the diocese of Leeds, is currently teaching Moral Theology at Ushaw College and was on the working party that drew up the document. On the day, Fr Wilson went for a broad overview rather than a detailed study of any one section. This probably the wisest option, not only because of the limited time at his disposal, but also because of our own tendency to make morality a shopping list of do’s and don’ts. He wisely reminded us that for Catholics “Good Behaviour” is centred on our relationship with Christ and is focused on making the most of our lives. That is not how the secular media like to see or portray us, which makes “Cherishing Life” even more timely. The fact that the Bishops have been criticised by some specialist groups within the Church for failing to concentrate on their particular area, merely proves the wisdom of their approach.

Certainly the clergy attending the day seemed well pleased. Fr Bob Horn from Blackpool: “Good to understand the desire of our Bishops to show how positive and life – giving, Christian Morality is. Deacon Chris Barwise found it a challenging day, but wondered, “what am I going to do about it?” Fr Tony Gaskin thought the presentation was confident and packed with information. He found the afternoon discussion groups both enjoyable and challenging. Mgr Paddy O’ Dea echoed the thoughts of others when he said that the Church should have the confidence to speak out in a credible manner. There was the feeling among some that morality is often confined to sexual matters and that it was healthy to broaden our outlook. Fr Stephen Wright O.S.B. commented that, “people today in the media and elsewhere do not know Jesus so they encourage us to take short cuts by relying on ourselves and not listening to wise advice. That is why we are always being given quick fixes to happiness. So we put on listening ears when the Bishops give us the document Cherishing Life and we try to make what it says real to the way we live and the way we think. They are in the business of making things clear.”

Not the least memorable part of the day was the welcome given the clergy by the community Superior, Sr Georgina. Deacon Tom Butler commented on how wonderful it was to be so warmly welcomed and reminded that we are cherished. After all, said Tom, “we are here to give people hope.” Another thought worth cherishing.