40 Days for Life on Marquette's TV6

Click on the image to watch.

The promise of the other group to be there - made repeatedly in this item - was not kept. I do not believe we saw them at all after this TV interview. We kept going there everyday except Sundays up to the day before Palm Sunday.

The filming and interview took place on March 25th, feast of the Annunciation. TV6's interview with the pro-Planned Parenthood people had been pre-arranged so they were able to get their crowd together. We just happened to turn up and found them on our spot, so we conducted our prayer vigil as usual alongside them but outside Marquette's pro-life Care Clinic, and TV6 took the opportunity to film us and interview me. The TV6 journalist had said she wanted to interview me and we had agreed that I would contact her the next week. I'm not sure if she would have arranged to interview us outside Planned Parenthood. I rather had the impression that it was to be just an interview with me. But that's just my impression.

The other cleric present at the vigil is Bishop Alexander Sample, the bishop of Marquette who had chosen March 25th specially to show his support. It was a very, very cold day!

Madonna joining Opus Dei?

“She has started exploring different religions. Madonna has always been intrigued by Opus Dei. As yet, she’s not a fully paid-up member – she’s just had informal chats.”

Well, you can read what you like into this report from London's Daily Mirror!

Chile promotes protection of unborn life

There be dragons

Directed by Roland Joffe (Killing Fields, The Mission) for release on May 6th. Must see.

Five-fold increase in women coming to Good Counsel Network - help feed and house these mothers and babies

Success: anyone would want it. But success in the pro-life movement also means practical help for those who have made a decision in favour of the life of their pre-born child.

Good Counsel Network is a wonderful instrument in the saving of lives and the assisting of mothers. They write:

Our resources are depleting rapidly and yet 23 women are currently dependent on us for food each week and 9 of these are being housed by us.

You can donate cash or baby goods.

For fuller details, go to the Good Counsel Network's appealing post.

The plan was...

... to spend a year on sabbatical here. Well, Bishop Sample has asked if I can stay longer and Archbishop Smith (the bishop of my diocese, Southwark) has agreed to an extension of my stay till Summer 2013.

Here in Marquette all the summer moves were made public today. As from July 1st I will be parochial administrator of the parish of St Anthony's, Gwinn.

A parochial administrator is, to all intents and purposes, the parish priest. In canon law, however, a parish priest (pastor) enjoys a degree of stability that a parochial administrator does not. Since I am not a priest of the diocese and the plan is to be here for only a short time, my appointment as parochial administrator rather than pastor makes sense.

Please pray for the people of Gwinn as they prepare for this change. They have had an excellent and dedicated pastor, Father Ronald Timock, for many years and there will be much thanksgiving to God for all that Fr Timock has done for the parish.

A number of youth from the parish attended the March for Life in Washington DC January last.

Some good English humour (no, not humor)