Fr Tony writes.....

There has been quite a lot in the media about the Pope’s decision to open the way to Anglicans who want to come into Full Communion with the Church whilst retaining some elements of their Anglican tradition. The Pope will be publishing shortly an “Apostolic Constitution” setting out the legal framework for any such scheme. This is not, as has been suggested, “poaching in Anglican waters”, but a response to requests made to the Vatican by various Anglican groups in England and in other parts of the world. It is certainly an historic decision in that it allows for those who want it the possibility of “corporate re-union” as well as individual conversions. It is not possible to say how this will all work out in practice, but it is an imaginative and unexpected move on the part of the Holy Father, and should be seen as an act of generosity on his part.
It is a tribute to the warm close relationship that now exists between the Catholic and Anglican Churches in this country that Archbishop Rowan Williams was there alongside Archbishop Vincent Nichols at the London Press Conference to announce this historic decision.
When the situation becomes clearer I will write more, but meanwhile I would ask you to pray for all those involved in this delicate but important matter.

It was fascinating last weekend to listen to Bishop Joseph Coutts as he spoke after the evening Mass about the problems facing the Church in Pakistan. There was an opportunity to ask questions, and I felt that we learnt a great deal. On Monday morning we visited St. Mary’s School where we met Year 6. It was very impressive to see how much the children knew about that part of the world. The questions they asked were very thoughtful. I think the opportunity to talk at some length with a bishop was appreciated. There were several questions about what is like to be a bishop!

I hope that we can keep the Church in Pakistan in our prayers. Listening to Bishop Joseph helps to put our worries into perspective!

THE VISIT OF BISHOP JOSEPH COUTTS OF FAISALABAD
This weekend we welcome Bishop Joseph Coutts from Faisalabad to the evening Mass on Sunday, and to a meeting in the Parish Centre. I hope that you will come if you can to show our support for the suffering Church in Pakistan.
OBERAMMERGAU
Some of you will already be aware that I am leading a pilgrimage to the famous Passion Play at Oberammergau next summer. It will be group from our parish and from the Diocese of Plymouth. It will be led jointly by the Bishop of Plymouth, Bishop Christopher Budd and me. There are details in the back of our churches and booking forms. This Passion Play takes place only every ten years. It is very well known, and attracts a huge audience every time. I am hoping to invite Andrew Merryweather from Pax Travel to come down and give us some more information about the pilgrimage as soon as it can be arranged. Meanwhile I hope that you will have a look at the information in the porch and give it some thought.

We are looking forward to welcoming Pope Benedict to Britain in 2010: on Sunday 18th October we welcome to Bognor, Bishop Joseph Coutts, the Bishop of Faisalabad in Pakistan. You will remember that I wrote recently about the appalling suffering of Christians in Pakistan, and the burning of homes and churches, and the killing of several people in the Diocese of Faisalabad. Thanks to your generosity, we were able to send £5400 to Bishop Joseph to help those affected by these terrible events.
The Bishop is in England for a few days and will be celebrating Mass in Westminster Cathedral on Sunday 18th in the morning. He will be here in time to assist at the 6pm Mass on that day. We will try to make this a special Mass and there will be an opportunity to listen to Bishop Joseph and to meet him in the Parish Centre after Mass at about 7pm. There will be refreshments for everyone. I do hope that as many of you as possible will make the effort to come to the Mass and to the gathering in the hall afterwards. I think we are very honoured to welcome Bishop Joseph and to learn from him something of the problems facing our brothers and sisters in Pakistan.