The new edition of the Society’s newsletter is now available. Here is our chairman Fr John Salter’s foreword.
Dear Members and Friends,
The visit of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, to the United Kingdom has been an unqualified success. Father Mark Woodruff, vice-chairmn, and I attended the service at Westminster Abbey, at which there was quite a large contingent of the representatives of Foreign Churches, there being a fairly large group from the Coptic and Greek Orthodox Churches. The Syrians, the Armenians and the Ethiopian and Eritrean clergy, together with the Pan Orthodox community of the monastery of St. John the Baptist, Tolleshunt Knights, made up the congregation, whilst there was a large representation of bishops from both the Roman Catholic Church and the Churches of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and the senior Officers of the Salvation Army.
The Vigil in Hyde Park was a very moving service, but one of the most impressive incidents was the speech made by the young black man, Paschal Uche, outside Westminster Cathedral, when he addressed the Holy Father on behalf of the youth of the Westminster Archdiocese.
The seeds sown by the Pope`s visit will take some time to grow to maturity, but already we are seeing signs of growth in Westminster insofar as the Diocesan seminary in Allen Street, Chelsea, has recently had an increase of seminarians, which is very good and encouraging.
We pray for the follow-up of this Papal visit and also for a fruitful and irenic outcome of the forthcoming Ordinariate for Anglicans, the response to the Papal Letter – Anglicanorum Coetibus, which in its turn was a response to the approach made by Anglican groups to the Apostolic See.
If it is not too early – every good wish for Christmas and the New Year of Our Lord 2011.
Yours sincerely in Dno.,
John Salter, (Chairman)