By Hilary White, Rome Correspondent
LANCASTER, UK, December 9, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – One of the highest offices in the Catholic Church has endorsed a document by Lancaster Bishop Patrick O’Donohue, calling for an authentic restoration of orthodox Catholicism to the institutions of the Church in England and Wales. Archbishop Luis Ladaria, Secretary to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, wrote a letter of congratulation to the bishop, saying that the document, “Fit for Mission? Church,” was valuable for “alerting the faithful to the dangers of secularism and hedonism.”
He continued, “This Dicastery is particularly pleased to note the importance placed in Fit for Mission? Church on the Catechism of the Catholic Church as an invaluable resource for the mission and vitality of the Church. It is to be hoped that not only the faithful of your own diocese, but also Catholics throughout Britain, will find hope and encouragement in your document.”
Bishop O’Donohue responded saying he was “delighted” at the letter. “At the heart of both documents is the urgent appeal to Catholics throughout our country to reject the misinterpretations of the Second Vatican Council that have become so wide-spread. Once again we must commit ourselves without reservation to the fullness of doctrinal, moral and liturgical truth safeguarded by Peter!”
In his introduction, Bishop O’Donohue wrote that the document was produced to help “foster and promote an authentic Catholic identity,” and relied heavily on the Catechism of the Catholic Church produced under the pontificate of John Paul II. Catholics, he said, face “the challenge of secular humanism, the question of moral values in a scientific-technological culture, and the increasing tensions caused by reason sundered from faith.”
The reaction from the Church’s highest echelons in Rome is doubtless welcome to the soon-to-retire Bishop O’Donohue, who indicated in an interview with Rome-based Zenit news agency that the continuing silence from his colleagues in the English episcopate on his call for reform both of schools and the Church in general, has been disturbing.
Indeed, in the “Fit for Mission? Church” document, Bishop O’Donohue specifically criticised the hierarchy of the Catholic Church of England and Wales for having failed to find a coherent response to the threat to Catholic charities posed by the government’s Sexual Orientation Regulations.
John Smeaton, director of the UK’s Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, wrote that the letter from the CDF was “timely” considering that the government has recently announced its intention to broaden “sexual and reproductive” health measures in schools. The government’s plans include establishing school based “health and sex” clinics in all secondary schools; appointing “teenage pregnancy” monitors whose job will be to keep down teenage births; giving school nurses and advisors a mandate to refer for abortions without informing parents; and contributing to the early sexualisation of children by making sex education a statutory subject in all schools starting from age 5.
The endorsement from the CDF follows another from Archbishop Mauro Piacenza, head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy, who wrote in September that it was a “much needed” and “effective, practical instrument for advancing the much heralded New Evangelisation.” This endorsement came at the same time as another from Cardinal Renato Martino, President, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
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