OVERHEARD IN HARRIS & HOOLE...

(An occasional feature)

29th November 2023

Myself and Mary Winterbourne  got together this morning in Harris & Hoole. The following conversation could be overheard:

Mary Winterbourne: Well Gene, the big day is nigh.

Gene: Yes Mary, Granny Barkes Fell in Woolworth's comes out on Thursday 14th December. I've had the advance copies delivered to me yesterday. The printing looks great. Brilliant cover.

Mary Winterbourne: Wonderful achievement Gene. Wonderful for you and wonderful for Uxbridge. Will anything special happen in Uxbridge on the 14th December?

Gene: No, nothing special Mary. I had hoped for a book signing in Waterstones - but of course Waterstones in Uxbridge has closed. I will however celebrate with Marianne. We will have a meal in Nonna Rosa. Also the lads are having a get together in the Good Yarn on that evening. I am of course still banned from there but one of the lads will call over to Nonna Rosa to pick up the advance copies I have for each of them.

Mary Winterbourne: How about my advance copy Gene?

Gene: Don't worry Mary. You will receive your copy on 14th December.

 

Luke 21:12-19 Your endurance will win you your lives

The Day Before War Broke Out (A Football Match, 1939), Painted by Paul Smith, Painted in 2006, Oil on canvas © National Football Museum, Manchester

 

Hello, this is J.R. Hartley. I don't suppose you could arrange for Detterling to be told to get stuffed?

You can. Oh! that's wonderful.

 

Listen to this C of E cleric talking bollocks about same sex blessings...

Schism in the Church over same sex blessings - YouTube

 

Gospel of 27 November 2023

The Widow’s Mite,
Painted by William Teulon Blandford Fletcher (1858-1936),
Painted in 1890,

Gospel of 27 November 2023

Jesus noticed a poverty-stricken widow putting in two small coins

Luke 21:1-4

As Jesus looked up, he saw rich people putting their offerings into the treasury; then he happened to notice a poverty-stricken widow putting in two small coins, and he said, ‘I tell you truly, this poor widow has put in more than any of them; for these have all contributed money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in all she had to live on.’

 

Archbishop Welby PLEASE  Stop the (Not) Silent Disco in Canterbury Cathedral

Why this petition matters

"My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of robbers.” Matthew 21:12-13

Or, in this case, ravers.

In February 2024, a silent disco will take place over two nights in the nave of Canterbury Cathedral. It is a strictly 18+ event, featuring plenty of alcohol and the music of the 90’s: Britney, Spice Girls, Eminem and the Vengaboys.

Archbishop Justin Welby, everyone likes a Silent Disco, but its place is in a nightclub, not in Canterbury Cathedral.

The most important Christian church in England.

The site of the martyrdom and relics of Saint Thomas Becket.

The repository for the mortal remains of kings, princes and bishops.

The destination of millions of pilgrims for centuries, past, present and future.

The inspiration for our greatest early work of literature.

And most importantly, the epicentre of countless prayers and sacraments - the House of God.

Do not profane this holy site of which you are custodian.

It will not bring young people closer to Christ, rather it will send the message that Christ and His Church, and all the truth, beauty and goodness it has to offer, are unimportant. That entertainment deserves our attention more than God. That Christians do not take their faith or their holy places seriously.

That Christianity is a lame joke.

Archbishop Welby, hear our petition, as your brothers and sisters in Christ, and stop the Silent Disco. Make the Cathedral a house of prayer once more.

GENE

 PS

And Justin, if the C of E will allow such an abomination then do the decent thing and hand the cathedral back to its proper owners the Roman Catholic Church.

 Vatican draws line on women’s ordination and homosexuality in new letter to German bishops

 

The Vatican has informed German bishops in writing that the ordination of women and changes in the Church’s teaching on homosexuality cannot be subjects of discussion in the upcoming meetings with delegates of the German Synodal Way in Rome.

 

The letter, dated Oct. 23, also reminded the bishops of potential disciplinary consequences for anyone defying the teaching of the Church, reported CNA Deutsch, CNA’s German-language news partner.

 

Written by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, and addressed to the secretary general of the German Bishops’ Conference, Beate Gilles, the letter was shared with all German diocesan bishops.

 

The document’s authenticity was verified by CNA Deutsch with the German Bishops’ Conference on Friday.

 

The latest in a growing list of Vatican interventions regarding the German Synodal Way, the letter was published in full on Nov. 25 by the newspaper Tagespost.

 

Danger of ‘parallel initiatives’

German bishops and representatives of the Roman Curia met in the Vatican in July for discussions about the German Synodal Way. These talks will continue in January, April, and July 2024. They are expected to cover ecclesiology, anthropology, morality and liturgy, and texts of the Synodal Way.

 

The Vatican’s letter reminded the German bishops of the Synod on Synodality underway in Rome: “Considering the course of the German Synodal Way so far, one must first realize that a universal Synodal Way is currently taking place, convened by the Holy Father.”

 

The letter emphasized that it was “therefore necessary to respect this path of the universal Church and to avoid the impression that parallel initiatives are underway that are indifferent to the effort to ‘journey together.’”

 

Line drawn on women’s ordination, homosexual acts

In light of the German Synodal Way resolving to push for the ordination of women, the letter reminded the German bishops that Pope Francis has repeatedly and “expressly reaffirmed” what St. John Paul II wrote in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis about the Church having “no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women.”

 

While quoting Pope Francis on the importance of recognizing the role and dignity of women — given “a woman, Mary, is more important than the bishops,” as the pope said in Evangelii Gaudium — the letter also warned of “disciplinary consequences” for those who contravene doctrine, including potential excommunication for “attempting to ordain a woman,” CNA Deutsch reported.

 

Regarding the Church’s teaching on homosexual acts, Parolin’s letter to the German bishops said this was “another issue on which a local Church has no possibility of taking a different view.”

 

The letter elaborated: “For even if one recognized that from a subjective point of view there may be various factors that call on us not to judge people, this in no way changes the evaluation of the objective morality of these acts.”

 

The Vatican’s note also referenced Pope Francis’ 2019 letter to Catholics in Germany. In it, the pope cautioned against “the great sin of worldliness and of the anti-evangelical worldly spirit.”

 

In January, Pope Francis was more explicit, decrying the German Synodal Way as “elitist” and “neither helpful nor serious.”

 

More recently, in a letter dated Nov. 10, the pope again expressed deep concerns about the German Synodal Way. He warned that steps being taken by this local Church segment threaten to diverge from the universal Church’s path, especially the Germans’ push to establish a permanent “Synodal Council,” a mix of laity and bishops to govern the Catholic Church in Germany.

 

 GRANNY BARKES UPDATE...

Slight Delay in publication.

Well folks it looks like Granny Barkes Fell in Woolworth's may come out a little later than I mentioned some time back. I had a chat with my agent this morning and it now looks like publication date is to be rearranged for 14th December 2023. Still, that's fine. It will be out in time for Christmas and what a stocking-filler it will make!

Back some years ago, when I was doing the rounds of literary agents with Granny Barkes, I had a very nasty letter from one agent. He asked how I could have the gall to send him such rubbish. I have kept this gentleman's details and on the day Granny Barkes hits the bookshelves he will get a specially inscribed copy with the inscription reading: Put that in your pipe and smoke it Nancyboy!

GENE

 

1. THE TRIALS OF PÄIVI RÄSÄNEN

   by Sean Nelson11 . 20 . 23
   

Blessed is the man who perseveres in the trial,” declares the Epistle of James. Finnish Member of Parliament Päivi Räsänen should count herself doubly blessed this week. She has now persevered through two trials over more than four years of legal troubles brought on merely for expressing her Christian faith. Following both trials, she has not only been acquitted, but also has been a shining example of a modern Christian life fearlessly lived.

On Tuesday, a Finnish Court of Appeal unanimously found MP Räsänen not guilty under Finland’s “hate speech” laws. If the decision stands—there is still a possibility of appeal to Finland’s Supreme Court—it will represent a bulwark for Christians and all people of good will wishing to live out their faith and contribute to social conversations over contentious issues.

Räsänen’s legal saga began on June 17, 2019. On that day, she tweeted a criticism of her church’s participation in a Helsinki Pride parade. She also included a picture of verses from her home Bible. Her case has come to be known as the “Bible Trial.”

Because she is a long-serving member of Parliament and a former Minister of the Interior, her tweet drew the ire of Finnish officials. While an initial police investigation found nothing criminal in her tweet—even writing that sounds absurd—the prosecutor’s office re-opened the matter to comb through her entire history of public utterances. The Helsinki prosecutor came back with an allegedly offensive pamphlet published in 2004 and a live radio interview from 2019. Räsänen was then charged with three counts of “hate speech” under a criminal code provision originally related to war crimes.

During her first trial in January 2022, the Helsinki prosecutor probed Räsänen with theological questions. Was it really possible to separate sin from the sinner, and condemn the former while loving the latter? Basic Christian belief rests on the distinction, as Räsänen explained, but the prosecutor was not convinced. Räsänen reflected at the time, “I couldn’t believe I was sitting in a court room where the prosecution discussed the interpretation of Bible verses.”

In March 2022, the trial court delivered a resounding victory for Räsänen, unanimously finding her not guilty. “It is not for the district court to interpret biblical concepts,” it said. 

Thanks to a quirk of the Finnish legal system, the prosecution was able to appeal the not guilty ruling, essentially obtaining a retrial. At the second trial in August of this year, the prosecution doubled-down on its charge that Räsänen’s widely-shared views on marriage and human sexuality were criminal: “You can cite the Bible, but it is Räsänen’s interpretation and opinion about the Bible verses that are criminal.”

Now, six judges and two trials later, Räsänen again has been acquitted, with the Court of Appeal upholding the ruling and reasoning of the lower court. The new judgment clarified that for a “hate speech” claim to stand under the Finnish statute, there needs to be evidence of intent to insult in the utterances themselves. Here, the Court of Appeal agreed with the trial court that Räsänen’s opinions were not insulting in the first place.

Throughout her life, Räsänen has always firmly believed that every person has inherent human dignity and should be loved, and that one must nonetheless speak the truth about the reality of sin. It is precisely Räsänen’s warm compassion, coupled with her uncompromising commitment to speaking the truth of her faith, that has made this grandmother of eleven an international symbol for the defense of the freedoms of expression and religion.

Against the clarity of Räsänen’s views lies the ambiguities of the “hate speech” legal regimes that have been installed throughout the West. These laws are inherently vague and subjective, relying on fallible humans to determine whose views are too offensive. They are dangerous for any society, since they offer an easy means for governments or over-zealous prosecutors to silence one side of a debate. In the U.K., the concept has been used to ban silent prayers. In Nigeria, alleged blasphemy can land you in prison or on death row. But regardless of the ultimate outcome, the legal and social harassment is meant to dissuade others from expressing views a regime disfavors.

It is some comfort to know that now two full panels of judges have rejected the arguments to punish Räsänen for witnessing to her faith. But the greater comfort is to see what real spiritual grace under trial looks like in the modern world. Räsänen has remained humble and plain-spoken as she defended both her own beliefs and the fundamental right of everyone else to share theirs. For that, millions worldwide should be inspired to take a greater stand for their freedoms.

Sean Nelson is Legal Counsel for Global Religious Freedom with ADF International, which supported the defense of Päivi Räsänen.

First Things depends on its subscribers and supporters. Join the conversation and make a contribution today.

Click here to make a donation.

Click here to subscribe to First Things.

 

I Love My 

Transgender Child

 

Jesus connects family strife to bearing a cross (Luke 14:26–27), and I’m beginning to understand these verses personally. Following Jesus has led to a type of death between my oldest son and me, my wife, and our other children.

My son professed faith in Jesus at a young age. He consistently engaged in spiritual conversations with me, our family, and our church family. We taught the Scriptures in our home through words and actions.

So it came as a shock to us when, last year, he stated he had gender dysphoria and wondered if he was transgender. Within a few months, our 18-year-old firmly believed he was transgender and that an LGBT+ identity was compatible with Scripture’s teaching.

Asking Why

My wife and I had many questions swirling in our minds: What had happened to our son? Did we do something wrong? Why didn’t God protect him? As we look back on what contributors might have led our son to this lifestyle, we can only land on a few.

First, an old friendship came back into our son’s life during COVID shutdowns and grew over time. This friend was moving through the spectrum of the LGBT+ community. My wife and I encouraged our son to be faithful to the Word, which included showing love and grace to his friend.

Second, a few other people who had meaningful relationships with my son expressed to him their belief that LGBT+ lifestyles can align with Christianity.

While my son currently believes all LGBT+ identities are compatible with Christianity, he has also admitted his relationship with Jesus isn’t great. His mom and I know that if he’s a genuine believer, he must turn from the sin he’s in, because “those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:19–21; 1 Cor. 6:9–10). If he embraces this lifestyle, he doesn’t give evidence of genuine trust in and obedience to Jesus.

Since my son made his decision, I’ve read about potential triggers and causes for why individuals can be drawn into LGBT+ identities. Whether there are real internal or external pulls, I’ve come to realize that, at some point, I have to simply surrender to the Lord that I don’t know what I don’t know. I pray that’s not a lazy response on my part but instead an admission of surrender to the Lord. He knows and he sees, and the greatest answer for my son and for my family is Jesus. But saying that is much easier than living it out.

Loving Our Son

For months after his announcement, our son was mostly closed and antagonistic toward us. As he became more confident in his views, he opened up more. Today he’s cordial, but there have been many roadblocks on this journey.

For example, when he was finally willing to talk with us, he communicated his hope that we’d call him by his new chosen name and pronouns. We knew we couldn’t do that. At one point, he said that by not using his preferred name and pronouns, we weren’t doing the bare minimum to love him.

Hearing that crushed our hearts. But we thought, How could we affirm an identity that ignores God’s goodness for him and ignores the goodness of the physical body? How can we ignore that our son is making himself central and not Jesus? And, God, why is this happening?

How can we ignore that our son is making himself central and not Jesus?

 

During one conversation, when we said we couldn’t use his preferred name and pronouns, he said to us, “Then I can’t guarantee I won’t kill myself.” He eventually went to his room, wailing and weeping profusely. My wife and I were also crying, feeling helpless. Certainly, it’d be easier to simply call him by his preferred name and pronouns. Certainly, it’d be easier to celebrate the things he celebrates.

In these moments, it’s hard to remember that the change he’s asking for will harm him not only spiritually but also mentally and physically.

Last year, my son suffered severe depression and suicidal ideation, admitting himself to the ER during Christmas break. It was the bleakest Christmas my family had ever experienced, and those weeks led to months of wondering if I would find my child dead in his room. Our questions persisted: Why can’t we just hold him and make everything better? Does God care?

Loving Jesus More

When my son thought we hated him, he didn’t realize our love for Jesus (and for him) is greater than he could imagine.

In Luke 14:26, when Jesus tells his disciples they’d have to “hate” their children, he wasn’t speaking of literal hatred. The Scriptures are replete with God’s good commands to enjoy and sacrificially love our children (Deut. 4:9; Prov. 17:6; Isa. 49:15–16; Mal. 4:6; Col. 3:21; Eph. 6:1–4). Jesus doesn’t contradict this. Instead, he’s emphasizing the degree of the sacrifice you make when you love Jesus. Your love for Jesus can be viewed by your family, even your children, as hatred.

The reality is that my wife and I love our son, and we’ve always wanted to love what he loves because we love him. Yet in this, we couldn’t affirm him. We couldn’t “delight in evil.” We had to “delight in the truth” even if our son felt like our love was actually hatred (1 Cor. 13).

She and I must die to ourselves for a few reasons:

1. Jesus is life and the only way to living life to the fullest.

2. Our words and actions can point our son to his need for Jesus.

3. We trust that dying to self leads to greater life and praise to God.

We know every parent has to die to self to truly love his or her child. It’s a pattern we set from the beginning. Our children don’t always know what they want or what’s best for them. And we don’t either, which is why we have to trust Jesus and his Word.

We trust that dying to self leads to greater life and praise to God.

 

Regularly, my wife and I admit the only way we can follow Jesus through these tumultuous waters is by the sustaining grace God gives in Jesus. My son’s struggles have shown us our dependence on Jesus. And as we gaze at our Savior, we see how Jesus’s death was the only one that blossomed into resurrection life—not only for himself but for all who trust him as their Savior and Lord.

If I’m resting in Jesus and looking to him, my continued death—resulting from my child’s spiritual blindness—can only mean more life. This doesn’t mean I’ll always get the things I think I should receive. But it does mean God wastes no deaths that share in Christ’s suffering.

 

 

 

Church Militant’s Michael Voris Steps Down After ‘Morality Clause’ Violation

The enterprise has generated controversy over the years for its often severe criticism of what it sees as lax or insufficiently devout Catholicism.

Michael Voris, founder of Church Militant, speaks during a rally outside of the Baltimore hotel where the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops are holding its Fall General Assembly meeting, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021, in Baltimore. Voris has resigned for an unspecified violation of the organization's morality clause, the group said in a statement Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. (photo: Julio Cortez / AP )

Daniel Payne/CNANationNovember 22, 2023

Michael Voris, the founder of St. Michael’s Media which operates the controversial Catholic media outlet Church Militant, resigned this week over an undisclosed “morality” violation, the company said on Tuesday. 

Church Militant posted on its website on Tuesday that Voris had “been asked to resign for breaching the Church Militant morality clause.” 

“The board has accepted his resignation,” the notice said. 

“We understand this is a shock to you all, but our founder and former CEO is stepping aside and focusing on his personal health,” the notice said. “The Board of Directors has chosen not to disclose Michael's private matters to the public.” 

“The apostolate will be praying for him, and we kindly ask you to do the same,” they said. 

The enterprise has generated controversy over the years for its often severe criticism of what it sees as lax or insufficiently devout Catholicism. 

The outlet has claimed that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) “isn’t Catholic,” alleging that the bishops “only pretend to represent the Church.” Church Militant has at times held protests outside USCCB gatherings.

The outlet has likewise at times been highly critical of Pope Francis’s papacy. In 2020 it alleged that Francis’s remarks on homosexual unions were made "in stark and unprecedented defiance of Catholic teaching,” while last year a headline at the site declared that Francis “falsifies biblical teaching on taxes.”

Church Militant did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday morning regarding the decision. 

In a video posted to his Twitter page on Tuesday, Voris addressed the controversy, alluding to “some very, very ugly truths from my past…that I, for essentially 62 years, have avoided facing.”

“There are things I have to go away and address and work on,” Voris said. “They are, again, horrible ugly things. [I’m] not going to share them. Nobody else’s business but mine.”

“In one sense I’m kind of relieved that I … have reached this point,” he said in the video. “I’ve been looking at the ugliness surfacing inside. [I] have not liked it. [A] number of times in my head I have written my resignation letter already, a handful of times this year.” 

“I need to conquer these demons,” he said. “...The underlying cause of it has been too ugly for me to look at.” 

“It involves an awful lot of, in one sense for me, like, spiritual terror,” he said, choking up, “and I’ve not wanted to go near it.” 

Voris urged viewers to “[not let] all of my stuff move over onto the apostolate.” 

“I am out of the apostolate specifically so there will be a very clear separation there,” he said. “That work, and the staff there … deserve your continued support.”

Voris founded St. Michael’s Media in 2006. The company launched Church Militant — originally titled Real Catholic TV — in 2008. 

In 2011, when the outlet was still known as Real Catholic TV, the archdiocese said in a statement that it had informed the company that “it does not regard them as being authorized to use the word ‘Catholic’ to identify or promote their public activities.” Voris changed the outlet to its present name shortly thereafter.