The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI is to come in September to visit the UK. While here he will beatify the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman. It is a truly historic occasion both for the country and the Church, at the prospect of which the whole Church should rejoice greatly, even if the whole country cannot bring itself to do so.

Despite numerous setbacks (the magnitude of which should embarrass the whole Church in England and Wales)  in the planning of the visit so far, with the venue for the Beatification Mass in Coventry still yet to be confirmed, excitement is palpably building at the prospect of His Holiness arriving on these isles.

Pope Benedict XVI is the direct Apostolic Successor of St Peter and if St Peter could rouse a crowd without millions of pounds being squandered by the other Apostles, then it is perhaps possible for the Catholic Church in England and Wales to look after a Papal Visit here in September.

The timing of his visit is providential but it is a brave Pontiff who comes here. The United Kingdom is beset by a host of problems stemming from a largely secular mentality.

Pope Benedict XVI will arrive in a country which has severed itself from its traditional Christian roots, first established by St Augustine of Canterbury at the request of another Supreme Pontiff, Pope St Gregory the Great, and the country now suffers the grave consequences of that severage.

Abortion rates in the UK consistently average at around 200,000 innocent lives lost a year.  The Labour Government passed legislation in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act which made commodities of human persons, embryos to be tested upon, experimented upon and used, only to be destroyed in a vain attempt to further scientific enquiry. The Government continued its assault on human dignity by refusing to lower the upper limit for abortions.

The Labour Government passed legislation attacking the institutions of Marriage and the Family, by passing the Civil Partnerships Act, creating, in law, a new kind of relationship recognised by the State set to rival marriage between one man and one woman. The Labour Government also enshrined in law an Equalities Act which threatens to be used in a new and viscious assault upon religious liberty and human freedom with several high profile cases suggesting that those who hold firmly to their Christian beliefs and practise them in public are vulnerable to persecution.

The UK, while remaining a country of many faiths and where the practise of religion is established in communities across the Union, is becoming increasingly and aggressively secular. Prominent figures have gained a great deal of attention in the mass media and popularity, most notably and most vociferously, the atheistic biologist and author of ‘The God Delusion’, Richard Dawkins.

The Church has not been immune to the atheistic zeitgeist and the culture of moral relativism now taking hold of the UK.  The Church is suffering a decline in the Priesthood and many parish Churches have paid the ultimate price of the decline  of the Faith by having been shut down by Dioceses, often to the great protest and anger of the lay Faithful. The abuse scandals which rocked the Church in 2010 have threatened (if you read the press and believe the hype) to overpower those who lead Her and lead the Faithful in the 21st Century, most notably in Ireland and the US.

Yet, while there is much over which the Catholic Church in the United Kingdom can mourn, there is hope. Christ may not have promised that the Gates of Hell would not come near the Church, but He did promise that the Gates of Hell would not prevail against Her.

Pope Benedict XVI has been at the forefront of the renewal of the Church, liberating the Traditional Latin Mass which has seen many rediscover the beauty of the liturgy and enabled men and women to find a renewed sense of faith in the Risen Christ.

Pope Benedict XVI has been at the forefront of the drive to cleanse the Church, to rid Her of ‘filth’, to remove from positions of authority those who seek to betray the mission of the Church and abuse those who are most vulnerable in Her care.

Pope Benedict XVI remains resolutely faithful to the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Deposit of Faith with which he is charged with defending while others in positions of authority in the Church seek to modernise the Faith to reflect the values of the World, exhibiting in his writings and in his public proclamations great holiness and insight into the truths of the Most Holy Faith.

The Franciscan Friars and Nuns of the Immaculate are one new Order faithful to their holy father, St Francis, devoted to both the Traditonal Mass and the Pope, while living radical poverty for the love of Christ.  The Dominicans, too, are enjoying a renaissance. Their members are growing and their new members are young. Young people are rediscovering, in the Sacrament of Marriage that True Love never dies, nor shies away from sacrifice. The liberation of the Latin Mass has been instrumental in inspiring men to offer their lives as an oblation to God in the Priesthood. Young people are discovering that Love is not what the media tells it that it is, but something that is Holy, that comes from God.

It is against this backdrop of a Church wounded, but still very much alive, shaken, but still sanctified by the Holy Spirit, embattled, but aided by the holy joy that comes from witnessing that same Spirit at work in the fresh growth evident upon the Vine, that His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI will be welcomed by hundreds of thousands (if permitted) of Catholics in the United Kingdom on his arrival.

The flame of Faith, given and handed down generations ago by a holy Pope and his holy but reluctant emissary, with his missionary monks in tow, is still very alive and it shall not be snuffed out, not even with all the bad will in the World (or even within the Church). The visit of Pope Benedict XVI will, God willing, be a huge success and increase the faith of the Church in the United Kingdom.

Tu Es Petrus! You are Peter, Your Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, and we welcome you with open arms to the country once named Our Lady’s Dowry. We love you, Holy Father!

What would you say to a Catholic who said: “I have paid twice for the visit, through the tax system and the national collection”. Why will I not get so see the Pope in person? What do you recommend that person do?

The project of the Pope in coming to Britain at the invitation of the Queen is to address our society and obviously to beatify Cardinal Newman of whom he is very fond. This mean visit works on all sorts of different levels. It works on the level of a state visit and normally heads of state aren’t seen by that many people in the country. But this is different because this state visit touches over four days and involves the Pope moving over major cities in his Popemobile in a way that many people will be able to go and express their support for the Pope and see him.

From a Catholic view, I think what is most important is that we understand the delicacy of the mission the Pope has taken on in coming to address British society with the gift of Christian faith. Because we are very aware of the delicacy of the moment of strong voices raised in opposition for any role for religious faith in our society and here is the Pope who is such an eloquent exponent of the gift of faith coming right into the midst of this multi-faith, multicultural, complex, at times aggressively secular, society.

So Catholics, really, I invite them to get behind the Pope and support him. There are many ways of doing this, with prayer, through the financial contributions that have already been made and of course if its possible to get to see the Pope personally in some of the big events.

But it’s the spirit of the thing that I think is most important and I would hope that every Catholic would rejoice in the fact that her majesty the queen and the Government have invited the Pope and rejoice in the fact that he is here, Our Father in faith, our father in God and we will support him whole heartedly and not with any way begrudgingly.

If it were up to you would you prefer this to be a pastoral visit?

I think the historic nature of the Pope visiting this country as a state visit is quite astonishing. It’s obviously the first time in history at the opening of the visit to see the Queen and the Pope together. The Queen is the first person to welcome him to this country. I hope that many of our easy assumptions will be a little bit shaken, that somehow there is an intense antagonism to Catholicism in this country.

That is not what the picture will show. The picture will show a monarch who is held in huge esteem by everybody making sure that this Pope, the Bishop of Rome is warmly welcomed into this society. I think that is so important that nobody should underestimate it.

What was your reaction when the papal visit was discussed during the leaders’ debates?

They were very particular political moments and it seemed to me that none of the leaders expected it. The way the question was framed was from a particular point of view, a bit of antagonistic point of view, and I was glad that each of the three leaders said, yes, they welcomed the visit of the Pope. Since then the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister have made it very clear, the warmth of that welcome.

And in appointing Lord Patten to be his personal representative the Prime Minister has made it perfectly clear that the Government fully supports this visit and is in fact looking forward to it. He describes it as a tremendously exciting.

Why are you emphasising Newman’s role as a parish priest and not so much his theology of conscience or his conversion from Anglicanism to Catholicism?

Well, Cardinal Newman is a rich and quite complex character. I think he is well known in some circles as an academic. He is known in some circles as a poet and a man of culture. But there is a strand of pastoral care that runs consistenly through his life and it started when he was a young tutor in Oxford and he saw the purpose of education was to care for the whole person and not simply be the acquisition of knowledge. And that underlying gold thread of pastoral care is, I think, not often enough focused upon.

Certainly his years as a parish priest in Birmingham and the reputation he enjoyed and built up among Catholics and others in Birmingham was the reason why 20,000 people or more lined the streets of Birmingham when his body was taken from the Oratory in Birmingham to Rednall where he was buried. Most of those people might not have read a letter of Cardinal Newman’s, nor a book, though they may have heard some of his sermon but they came out onto the streets because they recognised a parish priest who was committed to them who visited them in their homes, who brought them food if they were hungry, coal if they were cold, who pleaded with their employers on their behalf, who did the things that a parish priest does.

And considering that we are just ending the Year for Priests I think it’s a remarkable grace that it is an English parish priest should be beatified by Pope Benedict XVI and I wouldn’t want that dimension of Newman to be forgotten or overlooked.

What’s your nightmare/dream scenario for the visit? What’s the worst and what’s the best you imagine happening?

Well what I remember from 1982 of course were that the days of the visit of John Paul II were marked by wonderful sunshine and I would hope for the same. If we can have an Indian summer over that weekend I think that would make a lot of difference to the hundreds of thousands of people who will come out to see the Pope.

What I really hope for too, is that the gentleness and the readiness to engage in dialogue that is so characteristic of Pope Benedict will come across.
And in this I think television coverage will help a great deal because here is a man who is most impressive when you sit down and talk to him face to face. One of the great advantages of television is that it brings the face close to us and I think with that help, People will see the utter integrity of this man who is at peace in his faith, not afraid of difficult questions, not afraid of difficult challenges and will engage with us in a way that I think will be a significant contribution to our shared life.

Do you expect some sort of an outbreak of abuse stories or negative stories about the Church shortly before the Pope’s arrival?

When preparations were in hand for the World Youth Day in Sydney, I am told that for 10 days before Pope Benedict arrived in Sydney there was a constant stream of negative stories about the Catholic Church. But they stopped and changed on the day he arrived. I don’t think that will happen here. I think that those who are critical of the Church for whatever reason will continue to be critical and I quite understand that. But I think that most people will recognise its importance and begin to see it in its proper dimensions and will begin to put in their proper context the terrible things that have been quite properly publicly criticised about the life and behaviour of some priests and bishops in the Church. I think it’s time now for us to look at the bigger picture and I think people will be ready to do that.

Would you encourage Catholics to come out and catch a sight of the Pope on the route?

Well, yes. But I think there will be plenty of opportunities in the major cities for people to wave and greet the Pope on one of his journeys on one his journeys through the cities and I’m very pleased that city authorities are being extremely cooperative and being in fact not at all reluctant to foresee very large numbers of people who want to come out into the streets to see the Pope.

The new Papal Visit booklet is a work of propaganda – it’s whole purpose is to give the impression that the Catholic Church and the British Government are the best of friends with abolutely nothing to worry about. The Pope has only come to pat everybody on the back and congratulate them on a job well done.

For example, the government people killed around 200,000 babies last year by abortion, Pope Benedict’s most recent encyclical mentions abortion three times yet the Papal visit booklet does not mention abortion at all.

Somebody will say “but James, they are trying to be positive” to which I respond that the Papal visit booklet mentions poverty nine times!

How come it is positive to omit abortion, but not negative to mention poverty? Is poverty something to be proud of these days?

They mention poverty because it is politically correct.

They are silent on abortion for the same reason they are silent on Terry Prendergast and Greg Pope. Because they don’t want to upset their friends in the liberal establishment.

Ever played capture the flag? It’s a great game. Two teams attempt to capture the opposing team’s flag while trying not to lose their own. There’s a lot of running, dodging and sneaking. If you play too defensively then you have no chance of catching the other team’s flag, but if you all go running after the other team’s flag then you will probably lose your own. The key to winning is good teamwork, strategy, a bit of misdirection and somebody who can run really fast.

The Catholic Church in England and Wales is currently engaged in an international game of capture the flag of epic proportions.

Cardinal John Henry Newman is the flag.

For one side, Cardinal Newman is the champion of Catholic tradition. His view of the development of Christian doctrine stands hand in hand with Pope Benedict’s vision of a Hermeneutic of Continuity. A single continuous Church the past. For this side, the Beatification of Newman is a rallying cry, a call to arms, an opportunity for renewal and evangelisation. The visit of Pope Benedict to the United Kingdom will show young Catholics a world beyond the stodgy Bishops Conference of England and Wales and give the Catholic population the confidence to fight encroaching secularism.

For the other side, Cardinal Newman is the first gay saint. He is a champion of conscience and doing your own thing. His views on the development of Christian doctrine show that the Church can and should change with the times. For this side, the beatification of Newman is an opportunity to promote the idea that religious dogma is transient and to highlight the hypocrisy of those who would call homosexual acts sinful while beatifying a man who was gay himself. It is a victory for modern progressive thought, for compromise and inclusivity, it is another stride towards an open all inclusive Church where anybody can join and nobody has to believe anything (except inclusivity).

It is not difficult to know which side is right. Newman was no more a homosexual because he loved his close friend than I am a pedophile because I love my daughter. It may surprise some of you to discover this, but it is actually possible to love somebody very dearly without wanting to have sex with them. Newman’s vision of the development of Christian doctrine wasn’t one of a Church jumping around from one view to the next with the spirit of the age, it was one of a Church developing like a building develops – each layer of bricks on top of and supported by the one below.

Unfortunately, unless you have been in a cave for the last few years you will not have much difficulty guessing who is on which side.

When the head of Marriage Care said that it made no difference to Children whether their parents were married or not he got no opposition from Archbishop Nichols because Archbishop Nichols is quite obviously on the let’s have an open Church where anybody can join and nobody has to believe anything side. So is Cardinal Cormac. It’s not just people inside the Church, there are plenty of other people keen for a Catholic Church which is compatible with all the latest New Labour ideals. Like Tony Blair who joined the Church so that he could, like his wife, work to change it from the inside…

Most of you will know that this is not an isolated incident, it is merely the latest skirmish in a war that has raged down the centuries.

In this particular skirmish we are vastly outnumbered and the other side are playing dirty.

Three of our guys just got put out of the game.

You see, while the Bishop’s Conference were very carefully not saying anything because that’s pretty much all they had to do in order to let the whole thing get taken over by secularists, an obstacle lay in their path. At some point in the visit all eyes were going to be laid on the Birmingham Oratory. The religious community that Newman himself founded. The men of that Oratory were going to have an opportunity to speak quite publicly and they were on our side.

I even got an email from one of them last year – Brother Lewis Berry, asking me to help him promote the Newman Cause website. He spoke quite frankly saying “we’ll appreciate whenever you can post on our things, as it’s important to promote an authentic interpretation of Newman, especially when there are other interpretations about”.

Unfortunately, when you are three humble holy men standing in the path of Archbishop Nichols and his plan for an all encompassing Church where anybody and everybody can believe whatever they like (Terry Prendergast for example) then you tend to get squashed. I have a strong suspicion that the people who said “James Preece? Don’t let him near Catholic Voices” are the same people as said “We need to do something about those people at the Birmingham Oratory”.

So there was a visitation. The Oratory were leaned on internationally and a guy from Vienna was sent over with instructions to clear out anybody who might rock the boat and three holy men were “ordered to go on retreat – to monasteries hundreds of miles apart – and pray”. Jack Valero was sent in by the Bishop’s Conference to take over as media spokesman. He’s now operating for the Bishops and controlling the public narrative on the Papal visit via Catholic Voices and the Oratory. I like Jack and I think he’s a good guy but I also think he’s incredibly loyal and would think it the right think to support the Bishop’s Conference, even if he thought they were wrong on this one.

So that leaves us with two things we must do. First, we need to keep hammering on about the three exiled brothers until they are returned. They are good and holy men and sending them away to pray indefinitely with no explanation is a terribly slight on their characters. It’s the ecclesiastical equivalent of accusing them of rape. Jack Valero told me by email that “the reason no further explanation has been given is that the matters involved are private and do not involve any wrong-doing” yet one has to wonder, if there is no wrong-doing, why send three men away to separate monasteries and instruct them to maintain secrecy?

Of course, we know that there was wrong doing. What these men did wrong was to stand up for an authentic interpretation of Newman which is why the second thing we need to do is this: We need to promote the authentic interpretation as much as possible. We need to tell anybody and everybody who will listen that Newman is not the first gay saint and a champion of progressive thought but a man who believed that the Christian beliefs of today must be firmly rooted in the Christian beliefs of yesterday.

Oh, and pray. Because this is going to get dirtier and at some point they are going to make their play against Pope Benedict himself.