Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today, 21st November, is the Feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the day commemorates the time Our Lady’s parents took her, at about the age of three, to the temple in Jerusalem, to consecrate their daughter to the Lord.

Joachim and Anna were presenting their only daughter in thanksgiving, and in full knowledge that this child was a gift directly from God.

The origins of the celebration of the feast are somewhat confusing, with some historians saying it is first documented in the 11th century within the Byzantine Catholic Church, and others claiming it dates back to the 6th century in the East, and the 15th century in the West.

Whenever it was first established, celebrated, or recorded, does not really matter, the fact is that today we recognise and reflect upon this special Feast for Our Lady. What we are in fact celebrating, and fully acknowledging is that God chose to dwell in Mary in a very special way. In response, Mary placed her whole self at the service of God.

Every moment since our Baptism, God invites us to be open to His grace and dedicate ourselves to Him, as Mary did. Let us take the opportunity today to reflect upon our Baptisms and rededicate ourselves to Him.

Christmas Mass Times

Mass, in the Ordinary Form, will be said at both St Wilfrid’s and St Joseph’s at 5pm on Christmas Eve, and in the Extraordinary (Latin) Form at 10am on Christmas morning at St Joseph’s.

In order to ensure we maintain a safe environment and limit the spread of viruses, we will have to keep the buildings well ventilated, which means there will be no heating and the doors will remain wide open.

We will be setting up a pre-booking system for each Mass to ensure we do not become overcrowded. Please spread the word about this. The information required will be Name, number in group, contact telephone, Mass to be attended.

A dedicated telephone line will be provided shortly.

In Case You Missed It

Exposition of The Blessed Sacrament continues to be held in lieu of Mass at 5pm Saturday evening at St Wilfrid’s and 10am Sunday morning at St Joseph’s, this will continue to be the case until the current lockdown restrictions are eased and public Mass is once again allowed.

A greatly reduced newsletter will be available, for you to take away with you, at each church. Last weeks had the results of the Christmas Mass survey:

St Wilfrid’s returned 56 votes for  5pm Mass with  14 saying they would prefer a 7pm Mass  if another is needed and  2 said they’d prefer an 8.30pm

St Joseph’s had a response of :- 42 preferring English Mass,

                                                  36 Latin and

                                                  10  either.

The results were for:          English OF Mass: 5pm – 38                                   10am – 4
                                            Latin    EF Mass: 8pm – 8        Midnight – 12       10am – 16

Statement regarding the publication of the IICSA report

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), has published its investigation report into the Catholic Church in England and Wales today.  This is based on the main public hearings held in October and November 2019.

Bishop Byrne CO and the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle fully supports the response from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales:

Bishops’ Conference Statement on the Publication of the IICSA Report

The Catholic Church in England and Wales welcomes the Report from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse relating to the institutional response of the Church in its duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation.

We thank the IICSA Panel for their work. The Report will now inform the ongoing reform and improvement of safeguarding in all aspects of the Church’s life.

An important aspect of the Inquiry’s work was the voice given to victims and survivors of abuse, including the accounts which they gave of their subsequent engagement with the Church. Listening attentively to their witness testimony has brought into sharp relief the extent of the damage this sexual abuse has had on their lives.

We apologise to all victims and survivors who have not been properly listened to, or properly supported by us. By listening with humility to those who have suffered, we can contribute to the healing of the wounds of abuse, as well as learn from those most directly affected how we must improve the Church’s safeguarding standards, policies and procedures.

This is an ongoing task and one to which we are wholly committed. Child sexual abuse is a crime. It is a crime that requires committed vigilance and strict procedures to ensure reporting to the statutory authorities. This is the Church’s policy. It is also why our safeguarding work needs to be continually reviewed and improved. Where there have been failings and inconsistency in the application of our safeguarding procedures, we acknowledge these and commit to actions which will bring about improvement.

Abuse is an evil act against the most vulnerable; it must never be excused or covered up. Abuse committed against children and the consequent damage to people’s lives cannot be undone. For this, we apologise without reservation, and we are committed to listen attentively to the voices of those who have been abused.

This report is an important moment in our safeguarding journey in the Catholic Church in our countries. It will now be considered in detail by us, the Bishops, at our Plenary Assembly beginning next week so we can explore how to integrate the findings of this important Inquiry into the life and work of the Church in order to consistently safeguard children and the vulnerable.

Vincent Cardinal Nichols
President

Archbishop Malcolm McMahon OP
Vice-President

Statement ends

If you have been affected by this report further support is also available:

1. You can contact the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle Safeguarding Team on 0191 243 3305or find further contact details at: http://www.rcdhn.org.uk/safeguardingdio/safeguardingcontacts.php

• ‘Safe Spaces’ is an independent service supporting survivors of church-related abuse. This independent service is run by the charity Victim Support and is free to access via telephone – 0300 303 1056 (answerphone available outside of opening times), email – safespaces@victimsupport.org, or web-chat via www.safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk.

• Other organisations offering support can also be found via the Catholic Safeguarding Advisory Service at https://www.csas.uk.net/

Exposition of the Blessed sacrament

During the current lockdown we are barred from acts of public worship, but we can still enter our churches for private prayer.

There will be Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament each Saturday evening at 5pm at St Wilfrid’s and at 10am each Sunday morning at St Joseph’s.

How would Jesus feel?

We all need to pray for the victims of all kinds of abuse, but in particular those who have suffered at the hands of the Catholic Church. The Church is a symbol of love and hope and faith, when its members betray those symbols they betray Christ Himself.

Sadly the secrecy surrounding many aspects of Our Church leads to the cover up of thousands of sins committed by the very people who ought to be upholding the values of Christ.

The report which has come out this week after an independent enquiry into child sex abuse by Catholic Priests here in England is very sad reading. It points to the fact that thousands of children between 1970 and 2015 were abused by those very people in whom we put our trust. They have betrayed, not only the children they harmed, but all of us, the Church and Christ Himself.

Just as alarming is the finding that Cardinal Nichols and the Pope appeared throughout the investigation to be more concerned about the reputation of the church rather than the welfare of its most vulnerable members.

We must never forget that the church is merely an instrument to define our Faith and worship, it is an institution full of sinful people prone to evil, the reputation of the church can never, should never, take precedence over its members, or indeed humanity as a whole.

Jesus Christ died for each one of us, He did not die for an institution, we must be prepared to call out all those who take advantage of their position to cause any sort of harm to anybody, young or old. We cannot allow our loyalty to the institution of the church take precedence over our loyalty to Christ who is The Church within our hearts.

Below is a list of addresses which you will find useful if you have any concerns whatsoever, it is always better to be safe than sorry!

You can contact the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle Safeguarding Team on 0191 243 3305or find further contact details at: http://www.rcdhn.org.uk/safeguardingdio/safeguardingcontacts.php

• ‘Safe Spaces’ is an independent service supporting survivors of church-related abuse. This independent service is run by the charity Victim Support and is free to access via telephone – 0300 303 1056 (answerphone available outside of opening times), email – safespaces@victimsupport.org, or web-chat via www.safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk.

• Other organisations offering support can also be found via the Catholic Safeguarding Advisory Service at https://www.csas.uk.net/

What will new lockdown mean for our churches?

It seems the general guidelines are for all church services to cease from 5th November, but private prayer in places of worship can continue. I think we have to wait a few days for the official response from Bishops to find out the full impact.

In the meantime, however, Canon Michael will be saying public Mass tomorrow at 10am at St Joseph’s for the feast of All Souls, and there will be Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament next Sunday morning from 10am to 11am.

Exposition will also be available next Saturday evening at St Wilfrid’s at 5pm.

The planned Blessing of Graves next Saturday has, sadly, had to be cancelled as it is considered a ‘Service’.

Doors Open Wide and the Winter Weather

There have been several concerns raised about the cold weather and the open doors in church. We know this can be very uncomfortable, especially for the elderly and very young, however the importance to maintain well ventilated spaces, during the current pandemic, is well documented.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, it was believed that the large droplets we expel when coughing or sneezing were the main vehicle of transmission. But we now know that talking, singing and simply breathing in indoor, poorly ventilated spaces over a prolonged period of time also increases the risk of contagion. The aerosols we expel, if not diffused through ventilation, become increasingly concentrated, which increases the risk of infection.

Scientists have shown that these particles – which we also release into the atmosphere when simply breathing and which can escape from improperly worn face masks – can infect people who spend more than a few minutes within a five-meter radius of an infected person, depending on the length of time and the nature of the interaction. In the following example, we outlined what conditions increase the risk of contagion in this situation.

Below the animated sketches show the likely transmission in an enclosed space, each orange dot represents a dose of respiratory particles capable of infecting somebody if inhaled.

The first strip is when someone is silent, the second during normal conversation and the third when a person sings or shouts. The exposure is shown in each square after 2 minutes, 15 minutes and 1 hour.”

El Pais

November Candles and More

Thank you to those who organised this special event in both parishes, and thank you to all who dedicated a candle to a deceased loved one, these will be lit at each public Mass throughout November.

Cannon Michael will be blessing graves on the 7th November, next Saturday, starting at Saltwell Cemetery at 2pm followed by Heworth Cemetery at 2.30pm. Please join him especially if you have a loved one buried at one of these sites.

Please remember to pray especially for all deceased members of our parishes during the Month of November, a month dedicated to ‘All souls’ and ‘All Saints’.

Broken Silence

So here I am again after a long silence, sorry! It has been a difficult few weeks. Canon Michael underwent surgery on the 20th October and I tried to manage the fort until he was well on the road to recovery.

My laptop caved in under pressure of use and has been out of action now for a while, I am currently writing on an ancient, borrowed laptop which doesn’t have all the features I need to update the newsletters properly. Forgive me.

To cap it all my entire household is now in isolation for fourteen days as my son’s girlfriend, who lives with us, tested positive for COVID19. So all in all it has not been plain sailing.

I may be able to produce a skeleton newsletter for distribution this weekend, but the fuller, version may have to take a short break.

I will post on here any important announcements so keep your eye on the blog.