Saints Peter and Paul
We celebrate the joint Feastday of these two great saints this weekend, Saint Peter the figurehead and source of unity and St Paul the great missionary who took the faith to the gentiles. As we celebrate this feast at our Cathedral we pray for Archbishop John who will be at the celebrations in St Peters in Rome this Sunday where he will receive the Pallium from Pope Leo, along with other recently appointed Archbishops, during the celebration of the festival morning mass. The Pallium is a woollen collar worn by Archbishops within their Metropolitan See to signify their role as Shepherd and a visible sign of their unity and communion with Pope Leo, the successor of St Peter. The mass in Rome begins at 9.30am (8.30am our time) and will be streamed live on the Vatican site if you wanted to follow it or view it later in the day. Next Thursday we celebrate the Feast of St Thomas another of the Apostles.
I print below part of the response of Cardinal Nichols following the vote in Parliament in favour of the ‘Assisted Dying Bill’.
‘The vote in the House of Commons in favour of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is a watershed moment in the history of our country. It fundamentally changes society’s long held values and relationships on matters of life and death.
‘The task is now clear: every effort must be made to limit the damage that will be done by this decision. This duty lies both on the House of Lords and on His Majesty’s Government. The list of challenges is long. It has been well rehearsed in recent weeks by responsible bodies and distinguished individuals, including the Public Commission on Palliative and End-of-Life Care whose recommendations have yet to be discussed. The appeal to personal autonomy, so much at the centre of the Parliamentary debate, cuts both ways: the provision of a choice to die cannot exclude the provision of properly resourced care for those who choose to live until a natural death.
‘As Catholics we will continue to play our part in the building of the common good. The decision of Parliament does not change our firm belief in the sanctity of life, never simply a burden, but always a gift of God, given and received. Our duties are clear: to live by the teaching given to us by God; generously to accompany with care and compassion those facing disability, isolation and suffering; to continue to put forward, with respect and clarity, the objective norms that inform our firm beliefs on how to live, and to die, well.’ Cardinal Vincent Nichols
Monsignor Anthony O’Brien
Cathedral Dean
