Kitty-Update: By Popular Demand...

I was truly surprised (and very humbled) to find out how many people at the Faith Summer Session read my blog. Even more surprising was the number of people who were actually keen to know what the cats have been up to lately. Yes, that's right... I spend ages on my more serious posts, and hardly anyone noticed. They all wanted to know about the cats.

When I arrived home, I spotted Monsignor Furretti lying on the grass in the front "garden" (it's actually just a strip of grass and some bushes to one side of the car parking area). I got out of the car, and she sat up. She made a chirruping noise, so I called her, at which point she came running up to me, and rubbed up against my ankles, purring enthusiastically. I then brought her inside and gave her some biscuits, which she ate with gusto.

Monsignor Miaowrini was nowhere to be seen, so I called her name through the catflap a few times. A short while later she came charging in, but she headed straight for the cat biscuits. After eating her fill, she came over to greet me. Slightly different priorities, but she is a much smaller cat - I think Furretti steals most of her food when I'm not looking...

Having fed the cats and made a fuss of them both, I had time to unpack and check the rest of the flat. I found the following little note from my next-door neighbour (who had been on cat-sitting duties.)

Dear Mac,

I came in and found the cat biscuits all over the kitchen floor. I have put them into some spare containers, and I hope that is of some help.

I am sorry, but I haven't seen both cats in together, so I can't tell which cat ate what food, sorry. I made a fuss of Furretti and have seen Miaowrini in the garden, so I assume both cats are ok.

Killing Fields

Mice (dead) - 4
Birds (dead) - 3
Mice (half alive) - 2
Birds (half alive) - 1
Plums (half eaten) - 3

Hope you had a good time.
Love Jan.

I have to admit that I didn't know cats liked plums. Cheese, crisps, coffee, yes... plums, no. I shall endeavour to find out more tomorrow...

Hope For The Future...

Well, I have returned from the Faith Summer Session at Woldingham, which was excellent. I had quite a few things to sort out, I'm a little tired, and tomorrow is likely to be rather hectic, so there won't be much blogging until Sunday... or perhaps Monday...

However, I did want to get this picture up without any delay. There is much doom and gloom being spread about vocations, so I thought I'd share a little good news.

We were truly fortunate to have four newly ordained priests celebrating Mass - the final Mass of the week was celebrated by Fr. Ian Vane who has just marked his Silver Jubilee of Ordination.

This was too good an opportunity to miss, so I persuaded them to allow me to take a photo - getting all four together was a bit like herding cats, but I managed it eventually...

From left to right: Fr. Andrew Gallagher (2 July 2011), Fr. Liam O'Connor (30 June 2011), Fr. Domenico Zanrè (27 June 2011) and Fr. Jonathon Routh (9 July 2011.)

Blogging Break...

I am off to the Faith Summer Session at Woldingham this week.

Apart from a brief visit to Chislehurst for Fr. Charles Briggs' Silver Jubilee of Ordination on Tuesday evening, I expect to be rather too busy at the Session activities to hunt down an available computer (I don't have a laptop.) I might manage to find one that isn't being used by Scottish teenagers desperate to know if their results are out, but I'm not counting on it. As a result, I shall probably not be blogging until my return on Friday.

I hope to have lots of photos from the Jubilee Mass and from the Summer Session to be posted when I get home.

In case any of you are concerned, my next-door neighbour will be on kitty duty. Despite the fact that she's crazy about my cats and will make far more of a fuss of them than I do, I suspect I'll be in the dog house on my return...

Attempts To Restrict Pro-Life Advice Services...

Of course, that's not how the Broadcasting Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) will describe it. No, it merely states that it wishes to review its old advertising codes. It particularly wishes to change its regulatory position on post-conception advice services (PCAS.)

The proposals include allowing commercial PCAS to advertise on television, allowing advertising by all those seen as providing suitable credentials, and requiring services to state if they do not refer for abortion.

Lets be absolutely clear on this. Post-conception advice services will consist of two groups: abortion providers who get paid for performing abortions (a multi-million pound industry) and pro-life charities which exist on a shoestring but do their utmost to help women in crisis pregnancy situations.

Requiring services to state if they do not refer for abortion basically rules out Catholic groups: referral for abortion is cooperation, and, as far as I understand it, incurs the penalty of excommunication, latae sententiae. Catholic pro-life groups will therefore not be able to make any such referral, and will have to say so.

The abortion providers, however, are under no obligation to point out that they have a direct financial interest in getting a woman to have an abortion. Technically, they can claim that they allow the woman to choose for herself, but I have not heard a single case where a woman in an abortion clinic has been given practical advice on how to keep her baby, counselled against having an abortion, or even told the negative consequences to a woman's health and psychological well-being resulting from abortion.

The "suitable credentials" requirement by the BCAP is another cause for concern, in that it will probably require groups to agree to refer women for abortion.

The consultation period ends on 8th August 2011. SPUC asks that people read use the briefing paper that they have prepared before contacting the BCAP to make their views known.