China: depressing news....

...that the Church seems to be on the brink of doing a deal in which the Chinese government will have a major say in the appointment of bishops. This is a very, very bad plan. Christ appointed Peter and the Twelve. He didn't urge them to make arrangements with the Roman bureaucracy to establish their successors.

Pope St John Paul got it right when dealing with governments. You are polite and courteous and have useful dealings, you emphasise that government is service and that God seeks to sanctify all such work - but you hold fast to the complete truth and freedom of the Church. No deals, no power-sharing, no special arrangements, no wannabe-throne-and-altar schemes.  Peter is the rock. Not Peter-n-the-government-of-this-bit-of-the-world. The Church must be free to be what she is, to fulfil the glory of what Christ called her to be and to do on earth until he returns in glory.

Cardinal Zen has heroically been pleading with Pope Francis to abandon the scheming. As has happened too often in the life of the Church, the heroic local bishop is ignored in the face of what seems expedient...and then, when t the wider perspective is seen, and the history is written, people sigh...

A TRADITIONAL CANDLEMAS...

...at Westminster Cathedral...a grand procession of choir and clergy up that great  aisle, all holding candles and followed by a surge of  candle-bearing faithful. A great joy to enter into this on a cold night...and even though it marks the end of the Christmas season, which brings a momentarily bleak thought, Candlemas is a lovely feast. The choristers sang, and the candles glittered and glowed, and we were reminded again of the Light that has come into the world...

"Auntie Pollyanna"....

....and if you want cheering up, read Auntie here...

...and also..

... a full report of yesterday's event at Church House: read here.

...and more on Bishop George Bell...

...and the bizarre action of the Church of England in attempting to revive the campaign against him

Read here...

and an excoriating analysis by Peter Hitchens in the Daily Mail, here...

And also, read today's excellent leader in the Daily Telegraph...

CHURCH HOUSE, Westminster...

...is a rather splendid place, beautifully equipped and with fine portraits of Anglican worthies....a mix of good architecture, good taste, and the latest equipment. The right place for a serious meeting about Bishop George Bell. It was a privilege to be invited to chair the event.

A number of resolutions were passed, urging that  Archbishop Welby apologise for his "significant cloud"  statement about Bishop Bell,  and that Bell's portrait be reinstated at Chichester and his name restored to the house in Canon Lane which was opened in his honour. We also urged a full Synod debate about Lord Carlile's report at the earliest opportunity.

Not coincidentally, the Church of England issued a statement yesterday announcing that further information had been received about Bishop Bell and that they were liaising with Sussex police on the matter. It's not clear why police should be involved: if the suggestion is that Bishop took part in some criminal activity, he cannot be prosecuted because he is dead. And why is he being named at all? Archbishop Welby appeared to indicate that the Church of England would accept the serious criticisms made by the Carlile Report and would act accordingly: a major recommendation was that a person of whom a serious allegation is made should not be publicly named because it implies that the allegation is true.

GOVERNMENT, The common good, and human dignity...

...the theme of a most useful conference organised by the Benedict XVI Centre at St Mary's University yesterday.  It was particularly interesting to meet Jenny Sinclair of Together for the Common Good, and there was an excellent presentation by John Pontifex of Aid to the Church in Need, who spoke about persecuted Christians in the Middle East and elsewhere.

...and across the sea...

...to the Isle of Wight, for a very happy day visiting St Cecilia's Convent at Ryde. The round of prayer in the daily Office, the opportunity of a good talk with the Prioress - wisdom, common sense, laughter - and the joy of the sea, the stiff wind on the Solent, a hearty fish-and-chip lunch at Ryde Castle...

We left as Vespers gently finished...the light was fading, Portsmouth glittered across the Solent, the ferry met the London train at the harbour station.

...and to Edinburgh...

...for an Editorial meeting, FAITH  magazine.  These gatherings are always stimulating, challenging, and enjoyable. Mgr Patrick Burke, a distinguished theologian, is vicar-general, based at St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh. The FAITH Movement has strong links with the excellent Sisters of the Gospel of Life in Glasgow. I travelled from London overnight on the Caledonian Sleeper.

After the meeting, I spent the afternoon tackling some work on the matter of  Bishop George Bell: am chairing a meeting this coming Thursday at Church House, Westminster. The aim of the meeting is to build some bridges - feelings are running high. There is a general recognition that justice must be done to Bp Bell's memory: the findings of the Carlisle Report reveal that he has not been treated fairly...

Marian chapel at the John Fisher School, Purley...auntie J made the kneeler!

Hugely enjoyable...

...visit to St Mary's School, Shaftesbury, to give a talk to the some of the older pupils looking at issues of the role of women/Mulieris Dignitatem/Theology of the Body...a warm welcome, and it was a real pleasure to talk to a delightful,  friendly and thoughtful group  who responded with  real interest and goodwill.

Large numbers of the people...

...at Mass on Sunday are young families: we have a thriving Sunday school, a lot of young altar servers, and a wonderful Children's Choir, plus lots of smaller children and babies squeaking and wriggling with their parents in the pews. There are teenagers who sort of slope in separately to show they are independent.  And as this is London, we also have a good many visitors - sometimes people just google to find the nearest church to their hotel, or come across the church by chance and find us convenient for Mass on Sunday. And then there are students, some of whom live nearby...

After Mass there is coffee and a loud babble of talk. Then sometimes some of us who are not so young and don't have immediate commitments sometimes gather for a drink in a nearby pub. We are a slightly random group, and that is part of the charm: we probably wouldn't know each other at all except that we have this great thing in common, this Faith which is at once so important and so ordinary...