Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth

Pope Benedict XVI has called the whole Church to celebrate a Year for Priests beginning on 19th June 2009, the Feast of the Sacred Heart. His purpose for this year is to encourage priests in their "striving for spiritual perfection on which, above all, the effectiveness of their ministry depends" and to highlight "the importance of the priest's role and mission in the Church and in contemporary society".

To do this the Holy Father calls us to a renewed focus on the centrality of Christ in our lives and in the Church and that "brings with it the correct appreciation of the ministerial priesthood, without which there would be neither the Eucharist, nor even the mission nor the Church herself". 

Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols and Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien, Archbishop of Edinburgh and St Andrews, have called on the government to protect the poor and vulnerable across the world amidst the ongoing economic crisis. In a joint letter to the G8's political leaders, the presidents of Catholic Bishops' Conferences from those countries called for concerted action to assist developing countries at the upcoming G8 summit, which will take place between 8-10 July near L'Aquila, in Italy.

A new book, 'In Praise of Paul', celebrating the life, work and teaching of St Paul edited by Dr. Michael Hayes, a vice Principal of St Mary's University College, Twickenham, is being launched at the University College campus on 25th June 2009. The book is published (by St Paul's Publishing) at the end of the celebration of Year of Paul. Pope Benedict XVI declared June 2008 - June 2009 the Year of St. Paul in celebration of the 2000th anniversary of the saint's birth. In promoting this commemorative year the Pope called for special publications on Paul "in order to make ever more widely known the immense wealth of the teaching they contain, a true patrimony of humanity redeemed by Christ."

The diocese's Exeter South Catechetical Cell Group is organising a one-day event for all catechists and those who are involved with the Sunday Children's' Liturgy. Entitled ‘Responding to our Baptismal Call: Come and See', this event is being held on Saturday 26 September at St Nicholas Catholic Primary School, Ringwell Avenue, Exeter from 10am to 3pm.

Prior booking is not required, but participants are asked to bring something for a shared lunch. Tea and coffee will be provided. Nearer to the time, details of the workshops will be available. For further information, please contact Margaret Paterson at braeside1 [at] talktalk [dot] net or on 07729 847014.

Devon Churches Green Action launched their new leaflet ‘Gardening for God' at the Devon Wildlife Festival on Exeter Cathedral Green on 20th June. The leaflet includes key questions for gardeners and growers who might relate their faith to the way they work the land. 10 tips for gardeners are also outlined, together with ten commandments from an earthy perspective.

The Riding Lights Theatre Company stages productions of new and classic theatre to reach a broad audience and reawaken a strong dramatic tradition within the Christian community. The Theatre Company's work is informed by a Christian faith which is shared by many who work for it. Currently, it is seeking male and female actors for their 2010 UK Roughshod tour. Roughshod is a professional touring theatre company, created by Riding Lights in 1992, specifically to perform in local churches and community venues with high quality, highly mobile theatre.

The Catholic Bishops of England and Wales have expressed their opposition to a proposed code which would allow for the advertising of abortion and contraceptives on broadcast media in the UK. Their views are outlined in a submission to a public consultation on the draft BCAP Broadcast Advertising Standards code.

To download a copy of the Bishops' submission to the consultation, prepared by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales and the Linacre Centre for Healthcare Ethics, please click here to visit the Catholic Church in England & Wales website.

According to LIFE, a UK pro-life charity, there have been 6 million abortions carried out in the United Kingdom since the 1967 laws decriminalized abortion. Rachel's Vineyard retreats for people affected by abortion were first established in America in 1986 by a Catholic psychotherapist. Theresa Karminski Burke felt drawn to respond to the massive need she encountered in her therapeutic work. She recognised that spiritual help was needed as well as psychological interventions for effective post abortion healing. Married couples, mothers, fathers, grandparents and siblings of aborted children, as well as persons who have been involved in the abortion industry now attend the weekend retreats in search of peace and inner healing.

The Catholic Children's Society (Plymouth) is a child welfare agency covering the Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth. The Society - a registered charity - provides parenting courses through diocesan schools, basic awareness training for the diocese on safeguarding children, programmes on social concern for school groups, and individual grants and bursaries for families and children in need. The Society is looking to recruit an enthusiastic, energetic individual to identify fundraising opportunities on its behalf. The key objective of the role is to generate income to enable its Patchwork project to continue the valuable work supporting families across the diocese. 

Writing in ‘Pilgrim Post in Dorset' (May 2009 edition), Bishop Christopher shared his reflections about the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Church and the world. He wrote: "The Spirit's main task with us is to drive the mission of the Church in making more widely known the Lordship of Jesus and bringing people to faith in him. Put like that it all sounds incredibly simple. On one level it is, but we live in a complex world with differing cultures and faiths. The Spirit is the One who guides us through these complexities.

Christian Music Ministries will be bringing ‘Rock', the latest Roger Jones musical to the South West later this year. It is the story of Simon Peter. There will be an evening performance in Bideford on Thursday 29 October and in Exeter at 4pm on Saturday 31 October. Local people, who like to sing, are invited to take part in the massed choir that will be part of these performances. No previous singing experience is necessary. If you are interested in taking part, please contact Mrs Mary Tucker (T: 01566 775810) for Launceston rehearsals or Mrs Chrissie Taylor (T: 01837 55382) for Exeter, Okehampton and Crediton rehearsals.

The June Youth Ministry Newsletter contains all the latest news and events in the world of youth ministry in the Diocese of Plymouth and beyond. This includes details of CAFOD's ‘Step into the Gap' programme, which is an exciting opportunity for young adults to explore and promote global justice issues while developing their leadership skills and influencing others to act for change. Also featured are Sanctuary - Youth 2000's annual Youth Prayer Festival at Our Lady's shrine in Walsingham, and the Vatican's newest website called Pope2You.net which aims to bring the words and messages of Benedict XVI to youth. Within the diocese, there are details of the Youth Rally and Summer Catechetical Camps.

A wide range of news and information is contained in the latest edition of the Churches Together in Devon Newsletter - which is published three times a year. The Spring issue includes details of the events taking place on the evening of Friday 26 June and throughout the day on Saturday 27 June to celebrate the 1100th Anniversary of the Anglican Diocese of Exeter. Between 3.00 and 4.30pm on the Saturday, at Exeter city churches, a variety of seminars will be taking place including one led by Bishop Christopher who will speak on' Pilgrimage'.

Event dates - June and July 2009 - and information from the Diocesan Justice & Peace Office. If you are interested in attending an event, please check the details via the individual contacts given.

Mary Conway, the Bishop's Adviser on Justice & Peace, can be contacted on 01752 260856 or by email at jp [at] plymouth-diocese [dot] org [dot] uk . Please get in touch with her for requests to be added to the mailing list for monthly email updates from the Justice & Peace Office, or to send details of events/information for the update mailings.

Cathedrals, parish churches, Carmelite convents, a hospice and even a prison are among the venues hosting a visit of the Relics of St. Thérèse of Lisieux to England and Wales this autumn. In Plymouth Diocese, the relics will be at the Cathedral Church of St. Mary and St. Boniface, Wyndham Street West, Plymouth from 4pm on Thursday, 17 September until 12 noon on Friday, 18 September. Throughout this time, the Cathedral will remain open to allow people to come for private prayer and veneration of the relics.

The April 2009 edition of the DPC Newsletter gives brief details of the topics covered at the February 2009 DPC meeting and features the concept of Stewardship, as presented at the meeting.

In his Newsletter comments, Bishop Christopher writes: "Stewardship has been around a lot in our conversations at the Pastoral Council in recent sessions. An overarching refrain of the stewardship movement is thanksgiving. It is intended to designate the basic attitude of the Christian throughout his or her life. In our heads, this should not be too difficult an idea. We are, after all a Eucharistic people and the Eucharist is the central action of our worship of God and our being with each other.

"In our lives and the attitudes which dictate how we live, it is much more difficult. Much can happen that is negative and that negativity can then dominate the way we think and act. Sin is written large on this negativity and it takes a life time to deal with it. The basic stance of thanksgiving will involve a lot of change of heart and mind if it is to become a primary response to all that can make up our lives. Let us not be put off by the daunting nature of our task."

In 2004 the Catholic Community in England and Wales took part in a survey called ‘My Family, My Church'. It highlighted some good things but also other matters that needed listening to, and responding to. As a result, in the Plymouth Diocese we now have a dedicated Family Life worker - Jillian Wilce - who is funded by a benefactor, and who will be working in the diocese until August 2011. Jillian is issuing a Celebrating Family magazine periodically in which will be found something of the work that the project coordinator undertakes, together with various resources and links to follow up, activities and prayers, and contact details so that you can get in touch.

To read the magazines, please click on the attachments below.

The aim of the annual Catechetical Summer Camps is to provide all young Catholics of the Diocese of Plymouth with an opportunity to learn more about their faith within a Christian and holiday atmosphere. Also, to bring children and young people to know and love Christ better and so encourage their growth in faith, which begins in their own family and parish.

All at Camp live their faith in a Catholic family atmosphere; playing and praying, exploring and learning, caring and sharing. Opportunities are given for holiday activities, sports, games and music. Liturgies are celebrated at various times during the day. Everyone, adults and children, prepare and participate in these celebrations.

The switch to digital TV starts to get underway during April 2009 in the area which is covered by the Plymouth Diocese. Five transmitter groups in the West Country TV region will be affected and they cover Cornwall, Devon, parts of Somerset, parts of Dorset and the Isles of Scilly. At the switchover, the existing analogue TV signal will be turned off. If your television is not a digital one, it will need to be converted. Digital TV information is widely available in the affected areas. Alternatively, click here to visit the Digital UK website, or call their contact centre on 08456 50 50 50.

A holiday, retreat and study week for Catholic students and young professionals will take place at Boarbank Hall, Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria from 18 to 24 July 2009. It will provide an opportunity for Catholics in their 20s to 40s to make like-minded friends, to enjoy a holiday in beautiful surroundings, to think seriously about their faith, and to pray and reflect. The week is hosted by the Augustinian Sisters, whose convent and guest house has a stunning view over Morecambe Bay.