Fr Tony writes.....

This weekend several hundred people from our Diocese are in Lourdes with Bishop Kieran for the Diocesan Pilgrimage. As always, there are a number from our parish. Please remember them in your prayers during this coming week, and especially the sick, for whom Lourdes is such a special place.
Among the sick we can include Pope Benedict, who fell and fractured his right wrist last Friday. He is on holiday in Northern Italy, near Mont Blanc. He was hoping to spend some time writing, and relaxing by playing the piano, one of his hobbies. This accident will prevent him from doing either for the next few weeks.
Just before he left Rome he published his third Encyclical Letter, “Caritas in Veritate”. It is a very important letter in which he offers a profound reflection on a number of the problems facing our society today. A non-Catholic economist, writing in “The Times” last week described it as the most significant contribution to date on the current economic crisis. There are already copies of the letter in the Repository Shop, and more copies can be ordered if needed. In the months leading up to our own General Election it provides food for thought, and offers a serious Christian reflection on the state of society today, and suggests a way forward in the light of the Gospel.

I wanted to take the opportunity of this week’s letter to say thank you for your continued generous support for the Parish each week in the collection. These last months have been very difficult for many people, and the financial situation is still very unstable. None the less you have been very faithful and very generous in your weekly giving to the Parish. I suspect that for many of you that has not been easy, and I want to renew my thanks for all that.
As you can well imagine from your own household bills, it is not easy to maintain a parish of this size, and one with so many properties to care for. We have been trying to economise where we can, but inevitably the bills mount up. After the “Planned Giving” appeal last year the collection went up, and has largely remained there.
The weekly collection is a serious responsibility for every parishioner because it is our duty to support the work of the Church. Your generosity makes it possible for the work of the Church to continue as it does. May the Lord reward you for your goodness and for your support. I know that you will continue to do what you can in this area.
We are truly grateful.

My dear friends,
As we look at our country today we can see that things have gone badly wrong. In recent years many people have abandoned the whole idea of seeking for “the Truth”. Like Pontius Pilate they shrug their shoulders as if to say “What is truth? It is all relative really isn’t it?” Well no, it isn’t. All around us we see the fruits of this attitude that “anything goes that is not actually illegal.” Look at the expenses row in parliament. How many times did we hear the excuse: “I was acting entirely within the rules.”? Perhaps they were, but is that the only criterion for distinguishing between right and wrong?
The law is very important. It is there to protect the innocent, and to enable us to live together in peace, but the Law cannot decide what is right and wrong. It can only reflect our convictions and beliefs. Not everything that is wrong can be made illegal. Adultery is a serious moral evil. It destroys relationships. It is a betrayal of trust, but it can hardly be made illegal. What is and what is not legal is a matter for prudent judgement. What is moral is something different.
We know that we should not pass judgement on others. Judgement belongs to God, and to God alone. But that does not mean that we should not recognise the difference between right and wrong. We need to be prepared to use honest words. Some behaviour is not just inappropriate or unfortunate. It is simply wrong. Our society needs to hear that prophetic message, and we must not be afraid to give it. In the confusion that many feel today, perhaps more will listen than we think.

Last weekend was warmer in Bognor than it was in Rome! But in both places it was a time of celebration. The children who made their First Holy Communion during the month of June came together for a Mass of Thanksgiving,followed by a “Communion Breakfast” in the Parish Centre. It was, rightly, a Parish event, and I would ask all of you to pray for these children and their families that this will be for them the beginning of a lifetime’s Communion with Christ in the Eucharist, the food for their journey through life.
Sunday afternoon saw us at the Cathedral where Bishop Kieran confirmed young people from our parish and across the Deanery. They too need our love and prayers. In his inspiring homily the Bishop spoke about our need for the gifts of the Holy Spirit in this modern world.
In Rome, on Monday Archbishop Vincent Nichols was one of 34 archbishops to receive from the hands of the Pope the “Pallium”, a stole made of white wool, a symbol of jurisdiction and also of communion with the Holy Father and the Universal Church. In this “Year of the Priest” we should also pray for him in his new and heavy responsibilities.