From the Diocese, quoted in previous post:
With the local clergy, a bishop leads the people as a family in the worship God. He also has the task of reaching out beyond the Catholic community to preach and to foster strong links with people of every faith and those of no faith.
Surely that should read "to preach and to convert to Christ"? Or are these merely links for links' sake?
Friday, 9 January 2009
New Bishop
From the diocesan website:
Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Canon Seamus Cunningham, at present Administrator of the vacant Diocese, to become the 13th Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle. He will be ordained bishop and installed in St Mary’s Cathedral Church, Newcastle on Friday 20th March 2009 at 12 noon feast of St Cuthbert, patron of the Diocese.
The Bishop-elect, aged 66, has completed almost 43 years priestly service to the Diocese. Born on 7 July 1942 at Castlebar, Co Mayo, Ireland, he was educated at local schools, which included St Nathy’s College, Ballaghaderreen at which Bishop James Cunningham (1957-1974) had also been a student for a short time.
Seamus Cunningham studied for the priesthood at St John’s College, Waterford, where he was ordained priest for the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle on 12 June 1966.
He began as assistant priest in Our Lady and St Joseph’s parish, Brooms, in North West Durham, from September 1966 until August 1971.
From 1971 – 1972 he was at English Martyrs, Newcastle upon Tyne. Then spent one year, 1972 – 1973, at the new Corpus Christi College, London preparing to begin work as a Diocesan Religious Education and Catechetics advisor, he returned to live and work in the Cathedral but also visited our schools throughout the Diocese.
In 1978 he succeeded Father Leo Pyle as Director of Religious Education in the Diocese and also as Chaplain to St Mary’s Teaching Training College of the Sacred Heart of Education at Fenham.
From 1984 to 1987 he spent three years as Spiritual Director to student s for the priesthood at Ushaw College, Durham.
In 1987 he returned to St Mary’s Cathedral where he was to spend the next 10 years as Administrator and Parish Priest. He was appointed to the Chapter of Canons shortly afterwards.
He moved to his present parish of St Oswin’s, Tynemouth and St Mary’s, Cullercoats in 1988 after a short sabbatical in the States.
Bishop Ambrose Griffiths had appointed him one of four Vicars General in 2001.
After his ordination on 25 May 2004, Bishop Kevin Dunn appointed Canon Cunningham as the sole Vicar General. He held this post until the Bishop’s death on 1 March 2008. He was with him and his family throughout his illness and death, and was elected Diocesan Administrator on 2 March 2008.
Such a long, varied and wide experience of pastoral, educational and administrative work throughout the diocese has made him known as a quiet builder of both parish and diocesan communities.
Canon Cunningham said, “Although I was surprised to be asked to undertake this task, I am glad that the Diocese will not have to face another change of style within very few years. I hope to start by continuing Bishop Kevin’s initiatives before seeking anew what will be best at this time to meet the many challenges in spreading the Gospel today and working with other church bodies and the civil authorities”.
A bishop is chosen as a shepherd to a local diocese to lead and teach his people.
He is appointed as a successor to the Apostles so that he can maintain the faith Jesus Christ passed on to the first Christians and keep the diocese in union with the Pope, who is the successor of Saint Peter, the first bishop of Rome.
With the local clergy, a bishop leads the people as a family in the worship God. He also has the task of reaching out beyond the Catholic community to preach and to foster strong links with people of every faith and those of no faith.
The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle stretches from the Scottish border to Teesside and from the Pennines to the East Coast. It was founded in 1850 and St Mary’s Church in Newcastle was chosen as the new Cathedral. St Mary’s was built in the 1840s during the time of William Riddell, a bishop who looked after the Northern District before the diocese was set up. He died from famine fever, caught while he ministered to the sick. The first bishop of the diocese was William Hogarth and there have been 12 bishops who have led the diocese during past 158 years.
The diocese sees itself as part of a tradition that stretches back to the great North East saints of the past - Aidan, Cuthbert, Hilda and Bede. Most recently, it was served by Bishop Kevin Dunn, who was very fond of Holy Island and was inspired by the saints of Lindisfarne. He spearheaded the refurbishment of the small Catholic church on the island.
Since then priests and people of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle have looked forward to the choosing of a new shepherd to lead them. They welcome Bishop Seamus with joy and congratulate him on his appointment to this historic and deeply faithful diocese, offering him their support, loyalty and prayers.
The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle – Factfile
Parishes: 180
Priests: 205
Parish priests: 105
Assistant priests: 15
Retired priests: 55
Foreign visiting priests: 7
Religious priests: 15
Others: 8
Deacons: 14
Religious Orders: 55
Total population of the diocese: 2,201,119
Catholic population of the diocese: 196,497
Schools: 162
Primary: 137
Middle: 5
Secondary/High: 20
Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Canon Seamus Cunningham, at present Administrator of the vacant Diocese, to become the 13th Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle. He will be ordained bishop and installed in St Mary’s Cathedral Church, Newcastle on Friday 20th March 2009 at 12 noon feast of St Cuthbert, patron of the Diocese.
The Bishop-elect, aged 66, has completed almost 43 years priestly service to the Diocese. Born on 7 July 1942 at Castlebar, Co Mayo, Ireland, he was educated at local schools, which included St Nathy’s College, Ballaghaderreen at which Bishop James Cunningham (1957-1974) had also been a student for a short time.
Seamus Cunningham studied for the priesthood at St John’s College, Waterford, where he was ordained priest for the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle on 12 June 1966.
He began as assistant priest in Our Lady and St Joseph’s parish, Brooms, in North West Durham, from September 1966 until August 1971.
From 1971 – 1972 he was at English Martyrs, Newcastle upon Tyne. Then spent one year, 1972 – 1973, at the new Corpus Christi College, London preparing to begin work as a Diocesan Religious Education and Catechetics advisor, he returned to live and work in the Cathedral but also visited our schools throughout the Diocese.
In 1978 he succeeded Father Leo Pyle as Director of Religious Education in the Diocese and also as Chaplain to St Mary’s Teaching Training College of the Sacred Heart of Education at Fenham.
From 1984 to 1987 he spent three years as Spiritual Director to student s for the priesthood at Ushaw College, Durham.
In 1987 he returned to St Mary’s Cathedral where he was to spend the next 10 years as Administrator and Parish Priest. He was appointed to the Chapter of Canons shortly afterwards.
He moved to his present parish of St Oswin’s, Tynemouth and St Mary’s, Cullercoats in 1988 after a short sabbatical in the States.
Bishop Ambrose Griffiths had appointed him one of four Vicars General in 2001.
After his ordination on 25 May 2004, Bishop Kevin Dunn appointed Canon Cunningham as the sole Vicar General. He held this post until the Bishop’s death on 1 March 2008. He was with him and his family throughout his illness and death, and was elected Diocesan Administrator on 2 March 2008.
Such a long, varied and wide experience of pastoral, educational and administrative work throughout the diocese has made him known as a quiet builder of both parish and diocesan communities.
Canon Cunningham said, “Although I was surprised to be asked to undertake this task, I am glad that the Diocese will not have to face another change of style within very few years. I hope to start by continuing Bishop Kevin’s initiatives before seeking anew what will be best at this time to meet the many challenges in spreading the Gospel today and working with other church bodies and the civil authorities”.
A bishop is chosen as a shepherd to a local diocese to lead and teach his people.
He is appointed as a successor to the Apostles so that he can maintain the faith Jesus Christ passed on to the first Christians and keep the diocese in union with the Pope, who is the successor of Saint Peter, the first bishop of Rome.
With the local clergy, a bishop leads the people as a family in the worship God. He also has the task of reaching out beyond the Catholic community to preach and to foster strong links with people of every faith and those of no faith.
The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle stretches from the Scottish border to Teesside and from the Pennines to the East Coast. It was founded in 1850 and St Mary’s Church in Newcastle was chosen as the new Cathedral. St Mary’s was built in the 1840s during the time of William Riddell, a bishop who looked after the Northern District before the diocese was set up. He died from famine fever, caught while he ministered to the sick. The first bishop of the diocese was William Hogarth and there have been 12 bishops who have led the diocese during past 158 years.
The diocese sees itself as part of a tradition that stretches back to the great North East saints of the past - Aidan, Cuthbert, Hilda and Bede. Most recently, it was served by Bishop Kevin Dunn, who was very fond of Holy Island and was inspired by the saints of Lindisfarne. He spearheaded the refurbishment of the small Catholic church on the island.
Since then priests and people of the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle have looked forward to the choosing of a new shepherd to lead them. They welcome Bishop Seamus with joy and congratulate him on his appointment to this historic and deeply faithful diocese, offering him their support, loyalty and prayers.
The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle – Factfile
Parishes: 180
Priests: 205
Parish priests: 105
Assistant priests: 15
Retired priests: 55
Foreign visiting priests: 7
Religious priests: 15
Others: 8
Deacons: 14
Religious Orders: 55
Total population of the diocese: 2,201,119
Catholic population of the diocese: 196,497
Schools: 162
Primary: 137
Middle: 5
Secondary/High: 20
Thursday, 8 January 2009
Sign up!
If you're a regular reader of this blog, or if you'd like to start doing so, please do sign up as an official Love Of Your Love follower at the bottom of this page! I'd love to see who's following this blog and hopefully I can discover some of your own. One of my New Year resolutions was to try to blog a little more, and on some meatier subjects, so hopefully you'll have a lot to read in the near future!
Thanks,
Augustine
Thanks,
Augustine
Wednesday, 7 January 2009
Raymond of Peñafort
From Universalis.com:
He was born near Barcelona somewhere between 1175 and 1180. He was educated at the University of Barcelona, where he taught canon law for fifteen years. After a spell at the University of Bologna he returned to Barcelona in 1222 and became a Dominican. At the command of Pope Gregory IX he organised, codified and edited canon law, which, when he started, was nothing better than a chaotic accumulation of isolated decrees. He was elected to be General of the Dominicans and gave it an excellent set of regulations for its better governance. He died in 1275. Among his works, the Summa casuum is noteworthy. This gives guidance as to how the sacrament of Penance may be administered justly and with benefit to the penitent.
Tuesday, 6 January 2009
Catholic
There is something that delights me about the international nature of the Catholic Church. Above is a photograph of Pope Benedict censing the altar of St. Peter's this morning for the Feast of the Epiphany.
An elderly German, in an Italian city, presiding in charity from within an universal Church, wearing vestments which echo through the centuries, venerates an altar which has been venerated by countless pilgrims from all corners of the world, for so many centuries. Catholicism is fantastic!
Laus Deo!
The Next Moscow Patriarch?
Metropolitan Kirill being given the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, Class II, by (then) President Vladimir Putin, December 21, 2006.
According to the Times, Metropolitan Kirill, currently the interim head of the Russian Orthodox Church, is the favourite to succeed the late Patriarch Alexei II. Kirill is said to be a "conservative" candidate for the post, being both a patriotic Russian and a staunch defender of the faith of the Russian Church, suggesting that we may expect no change of Patriarchal policy in the near future.
Both President Dmitri Medvedev and Prime-Minister Putin were present at the late Patriarch's elaborate funeral, solemnly celebrated in the rebuilt cathedral of Christ the Saviour, demonstrating the Russian political establisment's growing self-identification with the Orthodox Church.
Prayer for the Holy Land
O God who raised up for us,
In the Holy Land in the East,
An anointed king of the line of David,
Bless that Holy Land,
And bring those children of Thine who live there
Into both terrestrial peace and concord,
And that sacred peace of Thine which the world cannot give,
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Holy Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for the Holy Land.
Holy Prophets and Patriarchs, pray for the Holy Land.
In the Holy Land in the East,
An anointed king of the line of David,
Bless that Holy Land,
And bring those children of Thine who live there
Into both terrestrial peace and concord,
And that sacred peace of Thine which the world cannot give,
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Holy Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for the Holy Land.
Holy Prophets and Patriarchs, pray for the Holy Land.
Sunday, 4 January 2009
Palestine
Walking through the city centre yesterday, I stumbled upon a gathering of angry Palestinian protesters, meeting beneath Grey's Monument. There were at least a hundred there, possibly more, and their chanting and music was audible from quite a distance. Not surprisingly, the far majority were Muslims, of obvious Palestinian origin. Most seemed to be second generation immigrants.
I really do sympathise with their cause. A Palestinian state has just as much right to exist as an Israeli state. What worried me about these protesters was their concept of nationality. I overheard one man, speaking with a middle-class British accent, talking to an older man about Palestinian identity. He was arguing that they could make no distinction between Islam and Palestinian nationality.
This reminded me that Palestine has a dwindling Christian minority. Most have emigrated, many are persecuted, and now they are caught between Israeli tanks and Hamas rockets. During the night Israeli ground forces entered the Gaza Strip in force. Please keep our Palestinian brothers and sisters in Christ in your prayers.
I really do sympathise with their cause. A Palestinian state has just as much right to exist as an Israeli state. What worried me about these protesters was their concept of nationality. I overheard one man, speaking with a middle-class British accent, talking to an older man about Palestinian identity. He was arguing that they could make no distinction between Islam and Palestinian nationality.
This reminded me that Palestine has a dwindling Christian minority. Most have emigrated, many are persecuted, and now they are caught between Israeli tanks and Hamas rockets. During the night Israeli ground forces entered the Gaza Strip in force. Please keep our Palestinian brothers and sisters in Christ in your prayers.
Friday, 2 January 2009
Don't forget H&N
The 2nd of January, today, is the day we were supposed to discover the name of the new Archbishop of Westminster. There have been unconfirmed rumours that Dom Hugh Gilbert, and Anglican convert Benedictine monk in Scotland turned down the job, which perhaps explains why we haven't heard who the new de facto spokesperson for English Catholicism will be.
Yet in the midst of the apparent chaos surrounding the appointment of a new archbishop, spare a thought for my own diocese, Hexham and Newcastle, the most northerly See in the country, home of St Cuthbert, St Benet Biscop, St Bede the Venerable and many more.
Since the much lamented and unforseen death of our bishop, Kevin, we have been waiting for a new pastor of the local Church. Please pray for our diocese, that we receive a holy, humble and orthodox bishop, who will reinvigorate the Church and spread the Gospel in our depressingly secularised and sceptical region.
Almighty Father, send us a Holy Bishop!
Dear reader, pray for our Church!
Thursday, 1 January 2009
Happy New Year!
Dear readers,
wishing you all a very Happy New Year! 2009 will see this blog continue and (hopefully!) improve. Keep reading folks.
Augustine
wishing you all a very Happy New Year! 2009 will see this blog continue and (hopefully!) improve. Keep reading folks.
Augustine
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