Events

Follow the Pope on Twitter for Lent
Some like to give up a favourite food for Lent. Others choose to follow a bible study course. Or commit to helping those less fortunate than themselves. But in our increasingly secular societies, many young people no longer keep the Lenten season in any special way – that’s why the Pontifical Council for Social Communications has come up with a new idea to focus hearts and minds on the challenges contained in Pope Benedict’s Lenten message for 2012.. Starting on Ash Wednesday, themes from that papal message will be posted on Twitter each day during Lent and over the coming months other papal speeches and documents are likely to be tweeted in a similar way, hoping to attract the media-savvy generation and entice them to find out more... But is it all just another technological gimmick that ‘dumbs down’ the message of the Church? Not at all, says Msgr Paul Tighe, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, “many of the key Gospel ideas are readily rendered in just 140 characters…..” Listen to Msgr Tighe’s interview with Philippa Hitchen: 00:04:24:07 “The idea was very simply to try and use Twitter to share with people the essence of the Pope’s message for Lent, so over the 40 days of Lent to tweet every day one of the ideas of this message…. doing it in a way so that people can re-tweet and already people we know from our meeting with bloggers last year are already re-tweeting… The pope2u site had phenomenal success at the time of its launch… over 5 million hits in the first week or two of its operation….the level of interest was such that we’ve kept it going by focusing on the big themes in the life of the church – Christmas, Easter, World Youth Day….” Fairly soon we’ll also be able to get the Pope’s Angelus and other speeches on Twitter? “Yes, I think a lot of attention is being given to the idea of seeing Twitter as a channel that could allow for a more direct and immediate way of sharing the nucleus of the Pope’s thoughts on various occasions, so I don’t think it’ll be confined to Lent… To those who say it’s dumbing down –no, this is entry level…to provoke people’s interest and to invite them then to follow the message and read the text…many of the key Gospel ideas are readily rendered in 140 characters – this is not the only way the Church speaks but it’s an avenue that is open to us and it’s pithy, succinct and it’s one I think that we’re quite good at…”

Spotlight on BBC series about Catholics
What’s it like being a Catholic in today’s British society? Finding the answer to that question is the main aim of a new TV series by the BBC that seeks to portray the complex reality of being Catholic and how this identity shapes peoples’ lives. Starting on Thursday February the 23rd, the 3-part series is called “Catholics” and is produced and directed by prize-winning documentary film-maker Richard Alwyn. He spoke to Susy Hodges about the project and the message he is seeking to get across in this ground-breaking series. Asked how he would describe the identity of Catholics in Britain today, Alwyn said "it's a very tenacious identity ....people cling onto it and value it" and he mentioned one women who told him "it gave her a moral compass in the chaos of life." Speaking about how Catholics in Britain feel about their faith in the wake of extensive media coverage of the clerical sex abuse crisis and other controversial issues in recent years, Alwyn said he believed that Catholics in Britain "feel slightly under siege, wary of the media which is understandable." Listen to the full interview by Susy Hodges with Richard Alwyn: 00:09:04:56

February 22, 2012
POPE AND ASH WEDNESDAY: Pope Benedict looks at today’s solemn celebration of Ash Wednesday and urges the faithful to use the period of Lent for conquering the desert of our spiritual aridity, selfishness and materialism.... CHALLENGES OF LENTEN MESSAGE: We explore the Pope’s Lenten message and the Dominican prior of Rome’s San Clemente church tells us why he finds this year’s message so thought-provoking and challenging.... LENTEN MEANING AND MEMORIES: A Jesuit priest and journalist who comes from Chicago looks at the significance of this 40-day season of fasting and penance and reminisces about his own childhood memories of Ash Wednesday and Lent.... SPOTLIGHT ON BBC SERIES ABOUT CATHOLICS: We talk to the producer and director of a new TV series by the BBC starting this week entitled “Catholics” that looks at the complex reality of being Catholic in today’s Britain.... 00:28:58:44

Baptism and mission
Last weekend’s consistory in Saint Peter’s saw the creation of 22 new Cardinals for the Catholic Church. Among those elevated to the Cardinalate was Fernando Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples. “If you’re baptised, you’re a missionary!” says Oblate Father Andrew Small. As national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States, he’s on the front lines of the Church’s missionary effort. He spoke to us about the work of evangelisation in today’s world. “People want to move beyond their own borders, their own frontiers. And we’re called to do that by the very nature of being baptised Catholics.” Father Small noted that missionary work benefits not only those who receive, but also those who give. “We were once great receivers of missionary support and animation and solidarity, and now we do that with others. The giving and the receiving in many ways are two different acts, but they’re all part of the same gesture.” He said the work of assisting others throughout the world must be rooted in the Faith. “I think the question of what we do when we reach out to others has to touch upon our faith. It has to make us go into what it means to be people of faith, to get a language that we can pass on in this day and age to others, about what that faith means, how relevant it is, so that we don’t just become secularised in our love and in our charity and in our work for justice, that that is put within the context of the Christian message.” Listen to the full interview of Fr. Andrew Small, OMI, with Christopher Wells: 00:10:33:55

Pope: the Basilica of Santa Sabina
In the evening of Wednesday 22nd of February Pope Benedict XVI leads the traditional Ash Wednesday procession on Rome's Aventine Hill. Following in the footsteps of his predecessor to the See of Peter , Blessed John Paul II who revived this practice in 1979 because, as he himself said on that occasion, the Lenten season cannot go by unnoticed. The Basilica of Santa Sabina which goes back to the fifth century may be steeped in history but it's also provided a venue for prayer down the centuries , even that of Saint Dominic . Veronica Scarisbrick brings you a sound picture of this Roman Basilica where Pope Benedict himself will pray on this first day of Lent imparting and accepting ashes in a symbolic gesture which as he once said himself here : "...is essentially a gesture of humility, which means that I recognise myself for what I am: a fragile creature made of earth and destined to return to the earth, but also made in the image of God and destined to return to him." Join our Professor of Fine Arts , Breda Ennis in this sacred space : “...which points to the simplicity and the sense of the sacred of the early Christians who didn’t look at pomp and circumstance but at the same time aimed at creating a building which was as grandiose as possible to give honour to God and to express in a temporal sense something beyond the temporal”.. A programme presented and produced by Veronica Scarisbrick Listen : 00:04:30:26

Canada: Families need to be strong
Provinces in Canada on Monday celebrated “Family Day,” a day for people to take time for their loved ones and emphasise the importance of family values. Speaking in Rome, Canada’s newest Cardinal, Archbishop Thomas Christopher Collins talked to us about the importance of the family in the modern world. “Our families are the most basic communities, and yet we see… many struggles in families. I think that very often, some of the things that Paul VI prophesied in Humanae vitae have come to pass. So there are many, many struggles that people face, but also many joyful things.” He spoke about the need to celebrate movements within the Church that aim at strengthening the family, including Marriage Encounter and Engaged Encounter, and Retrouvaille for families that are struggling. He said the family “is the most fundamental community. It needs to be strong.” Listen: 00:01:26:74

Two Western Journalists killed in Syria
Two Western journalists were reportedly killed in the besieged Syrian city of Homs today when shells hit the house they were staying in. They were Marie Colvin, an American working for Britain's Sunday Times, and French photographer Remi Ochlik. A witness said shells hit the house in the Baba Amro district of Homs in which they were staying and a rocket hit them when they tried to escape. Both were veteran correspondents of wars in the Middle East and elsewhere. Meanwhile, The International Committee of the Red Cross is continuing to negotiate with the Syrian authorities for a daily cessation of fighting for at least two hours in all affected areas. This is to allow for the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Spokesperson of the ICRC in Syria, Saleh Dabbakeh told Lydia O’Kane a cessation, such as this, would save many lives. He said, “ it would make it a lot easier for volunteers of the Syrian Red Crescent to access these areas, reach people who need medical assistance, food assistance…” He also said that despite the fact that some hospitals in Homs have been hit by shelling, there are still around five others that still continue to function. Listen 00:07:19:44

Diplomatic solution to Iran crisis sought
The Obama administration is still optimistic that diplomacy can work to resolve the standoff between the international community and Iran over the goals of its nuclear programme. An Iranian general, however, said yesterday that the nation will pre-emptively strike anyone who threatens it. The U.S. and Israel have not ruled out strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities. Meanwhile, the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency expressed disappointment today over the lack of progress during two days of talks in Tehran and said its request to visit a military site had not been granted. At the White House, spokesman Jay Carney put the emphasis back on negotiations. Listen: 00:00:53:21

Lenten hymns: joyful but austere...
During Lent our hymns take on a more solemn tune says music historian Monsignor Philip Whitmore because although it is a joyful season , it is austere, and this austerity is reflected in our liturgy : "In the season of Lent we join Our Lord Jesus in his fast of 40 days. We devote ourselves to prayer, fasting and almsgiving, so as to prepare ourselves spiritually for the great events of Holy Week and Easter. ..we use purple vestments , we omit the Gloria and the Alleluia..." Among the hymns Monsignor Whitmore chooses from our Catholic tradition is 'God of Mercy and Compassion' which tells of God's mercy to us sinners. The words were written by the 19th century Redemptorist priest Edmund Vaughan, uncle of the future Cardinal Herbert Vaughan, who founded Westminster Cathedral...like many Victorian hymns it uses a refrain in which we express our firm purpose of amendment: All my sins I now detest them , never will I sin again". Listen : 00:05:36:38

Challenges of Pope's lenten message
Lent is the 40-day season of prayer, fasting and alms-giving that precedes Easter and in his Lenten message for this year Pope Benedict chose the theme: “Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works” that focuses in particular on the theme of charity. In this message the pope speaks of the importance of being concerned not just for the physical wellbeing of others but also for their spiritual wellbeing. In this latter context, he stresses the need for Christians to rediscover the practice of admonishing their brothers and sisters who are committing a sin, saying we must not remain silent before evil. Irish Dominican Father Terence Crotty is the prior at Rome’s San Clemente Church. He spoke to Susy Hodges about why he believes this lenten message is so challenging for all Christians. He describes it as a very beatiful and thought-provoking message that stresses "the high standards that Christians are called to live." Father Crotty goes on to say that the Pope is "warning us in his message against "the individualism" of modern society and of being "too closed-in on ourselves." Listen to the full interview by Susy Hodges with Dominican Prior Terence Crotty: 00:07:16:37