Advice on Adoration

Thanks to wiki for the Melozzi da Forli angel

Some of you picked up on the line in my meeting with angels post regarding Adoration.

I shall pass on what the Sister Angel said to me and showed me.

Firstly, she said to remember that Adoration is like being in an X-Ray machine. God will show one all one's sins and tendencies towards sin. But, one must also remember that one builds up to "radiation", and does not over-do Adoration. She warned me against going for more than a few hours a day, for example, and to ease into being in the Presence of God. The Tyburn nuns usually do not do more than two complete hours per day, although the Divine Office is said in the Presence of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.

And hour a day to start with and even broken up into two half hours at a time form a good beginning.

Secondly, we must remember that we have bodies and that we are not pure spirits. Therefore, if we are becoming closer to God in prayer and in Adoration, we must not tire ourselves out, but be aware of human limitations. Most of the time I was in Adoration, Sister Angel was as well. She went more than I did.  She obviously had more stamina for Adoration than I did. She said that deep intense prayer needed guidance and she was giving that.

Thirdly,  one must remember that silence is best, not reading anything, not singing, nor the rosary, but complete silence. She showed me this by example, and this was confirmed by what another person said to me about the same time. If one needs to say the Divine Office in front of the Blessed Sacrament, fine, but it is better to come to Christ without any distractions. Sister Angel just sat in front of the Blessed Sacrament or knelt. Of course, she said the Divine Office when the nuns did. But, to learn to contemplate Christ is best. He wants to work healing and repentance in us. He wants to speak to us, and this cannot happen when we are reading prayers. She did remind me to do Lectio Divina, which is a hour of meditation on a Scripture passage a day, and which I did as part of the Benedictine Rule. It is interesting that the week I met her, I was reading and meditating on Tobit. Remember, at that monastery, there was twelve hours of Adoration a day available. She was in the chapel most of the day.

Fourthly, we take back out into the world what we become in adoring Christ. She was keen on this aspect of prayer and meditation-to go out and serve those in the world. I think of another great servant of God.

Mother Theresa had a famous saying on Adoration-"I look at Christ and He looks at me."

One must be prepared for the shock of seeing one's sins and imperfections and be grateful for that knowledge. I am glad that Sister Angel reminded me of my physical as well as mental limitations. Being present to Pure Love is purifying and one must cooperate with the purification of the senses and spirit.

BTW, I mentioned that I never saw her eat. In fact, she would give me some of her food daily, which was very sweet, as her food, as a guest, was better than mine, as being closer to what the nuns ate. She thought I needed it.

For new readers, use the tags or labels at the side and follow the purification series, by putting perfection, perfection again, and coctors of the Church in the search bar; or use the labels and click. There are over 400 posts on this subject.

Quick Post

Later, I shall answer the questions of several commentators. But, I just got back from the Prayer Vigil for Atonement for the passing of the abortion law here in Ireland. About 150 of us, including three priests, Fr. Michael Ross being one of Priests for Life, people from HLI, and John Pridmore prayed the chaplet and the rosary.

Only a few people passing by said nasty things, otherwise it was quiet, but very hot.

This was outside the Dail. Tomorrow, there is another atonement prayer service at Knock at 7:30 pm in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. Maybe some of you can make it.

The Purification of A Generation of Children

One of my readers asked me why God did these two things: one, cause the Hebrews to wander in the Sinai wilderness for forty years. She thought that the adoration of the golden calf was dealt with at the foot of the mountain.

Two, she could not understand why the army of  St. Joshua had to kill Canaanites. (Also connected to this, would be the slaughter of the Philistines by St. David.)

Good questions.

Yes, God did punish many of those who built the golden calf by death immediately when Moses came down from the mountain. However, the problem of the interior lives of the Hebrews required that there souls be purified. Of what? As I heard in a sermon long ago, the bodies of the Hebrews were freed from slavery in the Exodus, but their souls had to be freed from the slavery of sin and idolatry in the Wandering.

The hardest thing for some of the Israelites was that they had to adore the Unseen God. Although God spoke to Moses, His Voice was not heard by all. There was too much sin and corruption in the souls of the Hebrews blocking the Voice of God.

One can see that 40 years is a generation. All of those who came out of Egypt, barring a few, like Joshua and Caleb, were not allowed entrance into Canaan, not merely because of punishment for idolatry, but because they simply were not strong enough to conquer evil.

One cannot conquer evil outwardly if one has not conquered it inwardly. This is what purification is all about. As in the purification series here on this blog, the process of allowing God to get rid of all sin, the proclivity to sin and to be filled with the Holy Spirit is necessary not only for personal holiness, but for making the Church and the society holy.

Without personal holiness, the Church is weak. God had to purify His People. They were purified to the point where their children were being formed in God's ways from little on.

This is what we need to do now. Form our children from little on to be pure so that they can overcome evil. Evil will thrive and grow without the purity of St. Joshua.

Secondly, the Canaanites were bad news. I have studied their culture.They sacrificed babies, usually the first-born, to Moloch, and archaeologists have found clay jars with the skeletons of infants in them. They would roll these jars into the mouth of the furnaces of Moloch. They also put the bodies of sacrificed children under the foundations of houses. By the way, an old missionary priest friend of mine told me the Maoris did the same thing with the bodies of their slain enemies. His church was built over a Maori home and the remains were found under every one of the main four posts. The idea that the dead gave strength to a house and protected it is not confined to the Canaanites.

Joshua's name is the same as that of Jesus. The name means Saviour. and Joshua, like many other leaders in the Old Testament, is a type of Christ. He tell us something about Christ and points to Christ's winning the battle over evil and death. He is a type of Christ for leading the Israelites into the Promised Land, as Christ leads us to Heaven. But, not without spiritual warfare.

And Joshua had to fight against cannibals.  I recommend reading the Book of Joshua.
But, the Book of Wisdom also refers to these bloody rituals.

1] O how good and sweet is thy spirit, O Lord, in all things! [2] And therefore thou chastisest them that err, by little and little: and admonishest them, and speakest to them, concerning the things wherein they offend: that leaving their wickedness, they may believe in thee, O Lord. [3] For those ancient inhabitants of thy holy land, whom thou didst abhor, [4] Because they did works hateful to thee by their sorceries, and wicked sacrifices, [5] And those merciless murderers of their own children, and eaters of men' s bowels, and devourers of blood from the midst of thy consecration, DR

The woman who asked the question could not understand offensive warfare dictated by God in the Old Testament.

For a context, many in 2013 have lost the idea of defense; that is, that in Catholic teaching, one may defend one's family, one's nation, and even one's property.

However, the offensive wars of the Old Testament, like the destruction of the five cities by God, two of which were Sodom and Gomorrah, are hard for modern Catholics to understand.

God called His People to a holiness and He called them to the Promised Land. His Will was to cleanse those lands of evil so that His People would thrive in holiness.

Christ does not call us to offensive war, except in prayer. Spiritual warfare needs spiritual weapons. However, we have a right to defend ourselves and a duty to defend those who are weak-children, women, the elderly.

As in The Mission, there are two ways to withstand evil. One is fighting, and one is witnessing peace. Both groups were right, but all but a few died.

Make pursuing the path to purification a priority in your lives. Teach your children and form them from the cradle. They shall see the age of the Canaanites. It is already upon us in some places.

Jesus and the Woes

I think that many Catholics forget the list of woes stated by Christ. Two points can be made. One, Christ was addressing those who were the leaders of His People; and two, there are consequences for living a life of hypocrisy.

How can a Catholic avoid being a hypocrite? By thinking like a Catholic and being obedient in all things, great and small, to the Catholic Church. I told my seminarian students years ago that the Catholic Church had become too respectable, too middle-class, too accommodating the the culture. Thankfully, God is changing the culture so that we all shall have to make hard choices. We shall be forced to choose Christ or comfort. That simple. Some Catholics ignore the harsh words of Christ and only want the lollipop words.

Matthew 23, DR

13 But woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you shut the kingdom of heaven against men, for you yourselves do not enter in; and those that are going in, you suffer not to enter.

14 Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites: because you devour the houses of widows, praying long prayers. For this you shall receive the greater judgment.

15 Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you go round about the sea and the land to make one proselyte; and when he is made, you make him the child of hell twofold more than yourselves.

16 Woe to you blind guides, that say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but he that shall swear by the gold of the temple, is a debtor.

17 Ye foolish and blind; for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?

18 And whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gift that is upon it, is a debtor.

19 Ye blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift?

20 He therefore that sweareth by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things that are upon it:

21 And whosoever shall swear by temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth in it:

22 And he that sweareth by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon.

23 Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you tithe mint, and anise, and cummin, and have left the weightier things of the law; judgment, and mercy, and faith. These things you ought to have done, and not to leave those undone.

24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel.

25 Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you make clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but within you are full of rapine and uncleanness.

26 Thou blind Pharisee, first make clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, that the outside may become clean.

27 Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; because you are like to whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear to men beautiful, but within are full of dead men's bones, and of all filthiness.

28 So you also outwardly indeed appear to men just; but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

29 Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; that build the sepulchres of the prophets, and adorn the monuments of the just,

30 And say: If we had been in the days of our Fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.

31 Wherefore you are witnesses against yourselves, that you are the sons of them that killed the prophets.

32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.

33 You serpents, generation of vipers, how will you flee from the judgment of hell?

34 Therefore behold I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them you will put to death and crucify, and some you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city:

35 That upon you may come all the just blood that hath been shed upon the earth, from the blood of Abel the just, even unto the blood of Zacharias the son of Barachias, whom you killed between the temple and the altar.

36 Amen I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation.

37 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered together thy children, as the hen doth gather her chickens under her wings, and thou wouldest not?

38 Behold, you house shall be left to you, desolate.

39 For I say to you, you shall not see me henceforth till you say: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Read the perfection series and the Doctors of the Church series. All positive steps to avoid hypocrisy.

For New Readers-Posts on Charismatics

Scott Hahn, once a charismatic himself, told me the charismatic movement was one lane coming into the church and six going out. What is the calculus for Catholic youth ministries? How many lanes in? How many lanes out? quotation from Austin Ruse, President of C-Fam http://goo.gl/NK3kv

See my posts on charismatics. Youth ministries which are heretical are too many too mention.

Etheldredasplace: The Irony of the Charismatics

01 Jun 2013

No disrespect intended, but I think you're portraying charismatics in a bad light (I'm not one, just so you know). All of the charismatics I've known love the Church and desire to learn theology and (good) philosophy.

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Etheldredasplace: The Irony of the Charismatics, Two

01 Jun 2013

The arrogance of so many lay leaders of the charismatic renewal is staggering, especially when so many lack the basic necessary level of orthodoxy, that is, obedience to the teachings of the Church. I have met charismatics ...

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Etheldredasplace: Why I do not trust charismatics in England

28 May 2013

Second, charismatics here undermine consistently the authority of the Church by practicing so-called healing and deliverance outside the normal channels of the hierarchy. Not only does this indicate a disobedience in the ...

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Etheldredasplace: Against the Charismatics Again: Garrigou ...

31 May 2013

Against the Charismatics Again: Garrigou-Lagrange on Revelations. Posted by Supertradmum. I should have read this last year to strengthen my many articles against false seers, but many of his points I came to as well.

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

A Real Warning to Well-Intentioned Catholic Charismatics

17 Sep 2012

Last year when I was in Walsingham for three months, I met many Catholic charismatics. One of the things I noticed was that they were using regularly the long version of the "Prayer Against Satan and Rebellious Angels ...

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Etheldredasplace: Reparation

13 Jun 2013

So many Catholics, especially charismatics, think suffering is to be avoided. I have never heard a charismatic say that suffering is a good and may be an indication of the Dark Night or purgation of the senses and spirit.

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

Etheldredasplace: A warning on the latter stages of spiritual growth

04 Jun 2013

This is an important point and where charismatics go off. .... The charismatics do not see that God allows pain for purification. I have heard charismatics say that if a person is not healed or is in pain, there must be sin. Of course ...

http://supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com/

On Pink Witches, David Jones and The Death of Symbolic Language

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8786641/Dress-witches-in-pink-and-avoid-white-paper-to-prevent-racism-in-nuseries-expert-says.html

Ok you have to read the article above to understand my comment. But, basically, one can no longer identify evil with black or good with white.

What does that tell you about relativism? We have to be politically correct about evil. Death of the West.

When Shrek came out, I hated it, and no one could understand my point that Love created Beauty, not ugliness and that we all are beautiful in God's Eyes. It is wrong to want to become ugly for another person. That is not the basis for true love. The inversion of fairy tales destroys ancient meanings, destroys cultural references.

Only one Person had to become ugly, had to be scourged and crucified so that all of us could be made beautiful in Him. The Resurrection is the promise of Beauty.


There a deep cultural reasons why a prince turned into a toad is a nasty punishment, or why a selfish prince with anger issues becomes a beast.

Now, we see that the neo-pagans cannot bear the long Christian symbolism in the West that black means bad and white means good. White horses, white cowboy hats, white wedding dresses for the past 100 years or so, white flowers, all signigy for most Westerners purity and goodness.

The witches have been seen in black for a reason.

Of course, as I wrote a million years ago on my old blog, there are no such things as good witches, as they all adore the Nature Goddess rather than the Trinity. But, to change colours of long standing meaning is the death of poetry, literature, cinema, etc.

And, have you noticed how many rock bands and even actors have taken Christian or Biblical names and twisted the symbols of names? Just try googling some common Christian saints and see what happens.

I would NEVER  have my child in a day care, child care or even a public school at this juncture. But, of course, I home schooled

My son knows the signification of symbol. All priests do. All Catholics should. We are people of symbol and poetry. We are the people who know that some signs are efficacious-the sacraments.

David Jones wrote an essay on this "Art and Sacrament" (Epoch and Artist). Find it and read it.

Hard times are a comin'. Do not let your children be confused. Do not lose the important of symbols

Repost, and you can check out one and two

Monday, 10 September 2012

Men of the West-three

Posted by Supertradmum

There are no freedoms without God as the centre of our lives. There are no real politics or governments of freedom without God as the centre of society and culture.

There are no excellent leaders unless those are men and women base who their lives on the Teaching Magisterium of the Church, as all other creeds fall short of truth.

There are very few real Men of the West, even in the Church hierarchy. There are some.

 Two quotations from Blessed Pius IX (a true leader, a Man of the West) from Quanta Cura:

For you well know, venerable brethren, that at this time men are found not a few who, applying to civil society the impious and absurd principle of "naturalism," as they call it, dare to teach that "the best constitution of public society and (also) civil progress altogether require that human society be conducted and governed without regard being had to religion any more than if it did not exist; or, at least, without any distinction being made between the true religion and false ones." 

From which totally false idea of social government they do not fear to foster that erroneous opinion, most fatal in its effects on the Catholic Church and the salvation of souls, called by Our Predecessor, Gregory XVI, an "insanity,"*, that "liberty of conscience and worship is each man's personal right, which ought to be legally proclaimed and asserted in every rightly constituted society; and that a right resides in the citizens to an absolute liberty, which should be restrained by no authority whether ecclesiastical or civil, whereby they may be able openly and publicly to manifest and declare any of their ideas whatever, either by word of mouth, by the press, or in any other way."

* Gregory XVI, encyclical epistle "Mirari vos," 15 August 1832.

On No Safe Havens. Or, How to Live in Dangerous Times

I have written on this blog and other blogs that I believe there are no safe havens for Catholics any more. Some of our American ancestors immigrated for religious freedom. Those days are gone.

So, in the face of the lack of a hiding place, what does a Catholic do in countries when persecution has come or is coming? We have two enemies and I do not need to name those.

Since the late 1990s, if I was teaching in Catholic institutions, I would ask my students, the Millenials and the end of the Gen Xers, if they were ready to be martyrs. Some said yes.

There are many kinds of martyrdom-loss of job, loss of status, fines--look at the Roper Family history. Margaret Roper died very young-I think her heart was broken.

thanks wiki for painting

But, one must not be caught off-guard.

One must create a mind-set which chooses, willingly, God first, the Church first and all else second.

This is why I have the long perfection series. One must become perfect NOW.

Secondly, one must train one's children to think like Catholics. I have many, many posts on this. Follow the tags.

Why anyone is surprised at the growing evil is beyond me. I suppose some people did not want to face what I have been writing about on line since the beginning of 2007.

My favorite blogger, Dr. Sanity, gave up the blogging fight, as she is smarter than I am.

I have many photos and drawings of ostriches on my blog.

Do not be an ostrich, even the mythical one which puts its head in the sand.

Either you learn to deal with this world and to live in it but not of it, or you will lose your soul.

We are not alone-we have a cloud of witnesses. But, please stop lying about discussions or compromises or working together with evil. As Solzhenitsyn said years ago, there is no détente with evil. I wrote on that as well. The time for writing will end and those of you who have not interiorized the radical Gospel will be left on your own devices.

Many places will not have priests or the sacraments. If you are a parent, it is your duty to teach your children well. Bring them up, as Scripture states, in the way they should go.

There are too many Catholics who will compromise and sell you to the highest bidder. It has all happened before.

I have received hateful comments, which I do not post, from three groups: Muslims, feminists and gay activists. People who write hate, hate.

People who write about love, love.  Be lovers of Christ and His Church and you will endure. Remember my story from the Desert Fathers, which I have repeated on line for six years off and on. Paraphrased.

A young monk came to an abbot and said, "We must be the greatest generation. We see and cast out devils, fast, pray and heal." The abbot replied, "No, we are not the greatest generation. We do the works of God, but the next generation will take over the world and do great works. They are not the greatest generation, either. The last generation will not be able to do great works, but they will endure to the end under persecution. That generation is the greatest-the one which will keep the Faith in trial."

Pro-Morsi Leader Demands That Rome Be Destroyed--Watch This

http://www.memri.org/clip/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/3915.htm

and the US gives money to these people?

I pray that American, British, and French Catholics understand the reality.

On Seagulls, Pigeons and Catholics

Seagulls and pigeons are considered pests in Dublin. These birds have adapted to city life, easily picking up scraps of fast food and eating out of open dumpsters (skips).

Dublin is not a clean city. Being an American from the Midwest, where cities of a certain size are clean (not thinking of Chicago but St. Louis, for example), I am troubled by the waste of food I see on the ground.

Seagulls and pigeons make odd noises and chatter all night. I suppose pigeons sleep, but seagulls seem to require little sleep, making their calls until past one and starting at four. Maybe they take naps.

Most of the Dubliners ignore these birds, but I am taken by their persistence and presence. Bird watching is my hobby and I used to keep a bird diary-one that was for 35 years consistently followed in three countries. But, now, in the past 7 years or so, I just observe.

People call these birds "pests" but they are pests only because of our lifestyle. In the old days, when the fishing boats came to land and the fishermen, as I saw at Bristol many years ago, cut the heads and tails off the fish quayside, the seagulls, as well as the cats, helped to clean up by taking those bits away.

Our own bad habits and the nasty side of wastefulness have created these pests.

I think Catholics have become the seagulls and pigeons of modern Dublin and modern Europe. We shall more and more, as society leaves Nature and natural law philosophy behind, become the pests of the West. We shall be seen, and already are in some places, as nuisances to be either ignored, marginalized, or as, sadly, in some places when poison is laid out for pigeons, killed.

We are quickly losing our place in the public sphere. I have had many discussions in the past week with young people who have no idea that there is a natural law and many who do not believe in it as a reality. They see no difference between humans and other animals, denying the soul and denying our goal-eternal life. I am not "one of them" in their eyes, but a pest.

Do not pretend that Catholicism and gross sinfulness accepted by a society can live in close proximity without clashes. Do not pretend we are not in our permanent home. Like the seagulls and pigeons which have their place, but have had to adapt to encroachments on their space, we shall lose spaces to be and to go. We can adapt for awhile, but we can never compromise.

Sometimes Seagulls attack and eat pigeons. We must not attack each other out of frustration or spite or in turf warfare.

Please Join Me in Prayer for Personal Intentions

Any sexually active love outside of marriage is this...

Idolatry

Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, nor of those things that are in the waters under the earth. Exodus 20: 4, DR

Barbie Sales Down

I have two ideas to help Barbie sales, which are down four quarters in a row. Of course, no one talks about the stolen childhood of our girls, who are forced to grow up to fast and do not play with dolls.

Here are the two ideas.


Bring back Military Barbie and Ken so that they can deal with civil war at home and the kids would feel safe in cars with their grandmas.

Bring back Barbie for President Doll, as she would be better than any candidates put forth so far, at least by the Dems. She is better looking than Hillary and no Benghazi links.

Pray for Thomas Peters

Twitterati are praying. Let all the bloggers pray as well, and I suggest praying to Fulton J. Sheen.

July 17, 2013

Pray for Thomas Peters @AmericanPapist in Hospital After Swimming Accident from Catholic Bandita Mobile

UPDATE, the information about Thomas Peters’ condition is from Edward Peters, Thomas Peters’ father:

Thomas Peters was seriously hurt in a swimming accident Tuesday evening. He has a fractured vertebra in his neck. His wife and mother are with him as he is undergoing tests. Prayers are requested.

On a personal note, I have never met Thomas but have talked to him in email. He has been very compassionate toward me in regard to my mental health issues. He is one of those people who is truly a Christian even when people aren’t looking. I pray he will have a full recovery.

UPDATE II from Edward Peters: “Thom can move his arms, docs are discussing the best treatment for his neck injury. Immediate concern is for the considerable water in his lungs. We are astounded at the expressions of prayers and support. Thom & Nat know about it. Please keep them up. Love from us all, EdP.”

Need for More Adoration and Now Is The Time!

I would hope that the passage of the SSM bill, now law, will cause some people to help me set up a House of Adoration in Walsingham. I need help to buy the large community house which is still for sale and I need only two people to join me at this time.

Please pray. The passing of this bill will impact Walsingham. I know this.

Mary, pray for your dowry. See other posts labelled Walsingham.

Thanks to commons wikimedia. org for photo.

A reminder of where we are headed

http://guildofblessedtitus.blogspot.ie/2013/02/a-time-machine-back-to-1581-death-of.html

To clarify, there is

no protection for teachers, registrars, no opt-outs, opt-ins.

Get ready for persecution, Catholics in Great Britain and if you do not think it is coming this way, you are not thinking..............Remember, as I have written before, if Catholics had not compromised under Henry VIII, there would have been no Protestant Revolt in England. Compromising Catholics became Anglicans and put members of their own families to death.

Catholic Bishops' Statement on New Law Now Enshrined-SSM

Catholic Bishops statement on Same-Sex Marriage law thanks to http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=22968#.Uea2XYByoyc.twitter

The President and Vice-President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales,  Archbishop Vincent Nichols and Archbisho Peter Smith, have issued the following statement today, on the passing of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act. In receiving Royal Assent, the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act marks a watershed in English law and heralds a profound social change. This fact is acknowledged by both advocates and opponents of the Act. Marriage has, over the centuries, been publicly recognised as a stable institution which establishes a legal framework for the committed relationship between a man and a woman and for the upbringing and care of their children. It has, for this reason, rightly been recognised as unique and worthy of legal protection. The new Act breaks the existing legal links between the institution of marriage and sexual complementarity. With this new legislation, marriage has now become an institution in which openness to children, and with it the responsibility on fathers and mothers to remain together to care for children born into their family unit, are no longer central. That is why we were opposed to this legislation on principle. Along with others, we have expressed real concern about the deficiencies in the process by which this legislation came to Parliament, and the speed with which it has been rushed through. We are grateful particularly therefore to those Parliamentarians in both Houses who have sought to improve the Bill during its passage, so that it enshrines more effective protection for religious freedom. A particular concern for us has also been the lack of effective protection for Churches which decide not to opt-in to conducting same sex marriages. Amendments made in the House of Lords though have significantly strengthened the legal protections in the Act for the Churches. We also welcome the Government’s amendment to the Public Order Act which makes it clear beyond doubt that “discussion or criticism of marriage which concerns the sex of the parties to the marriage shall not be taken of itself to be threatening or intended to stir up hatred”. Individuals are therefore protected from criminal sanction under the Public Order Act when discussing or expressing disagreement with same sex marriage. In other respects, however, the amendments we suggested have not been accepted. We were concerned to provide legislative clarity for schools with a religious character. This was in order to ensure that these schools will be able to continue to teach in accordance with their religious tenets. Given the potential risk that future guidance given by a Secretary of State for education regarding sex and relationships education could now conflict with Church teaching on marriage, we were disappointed that an amendment to provide this clarity was not accepted. The Minister made clear in the House of Lords, however, that in “having regard” to such guidance now or in the future schools with a religious character can “take into account other matters, including in particular relevant religious tenets”, and that “having regard to a provision does not mean that it must be followed assiduously should there be good reason for not doing so”. These assurances go some way to meeting the concerns we and others expressed. We were disappointed that a number of other amendments to safeguard freedom of speech and the rights of civil registrars to conscientious objection were not passed. But Ministerial assurances have been made that no one can suffer detriment or unfavourable treatment in employment because she or he holds the belief that marriage can only be between a man and a woman. The legal and political traditions of this country are founded on a firm conviction concerning the rights of people to hold and express their beliefs and views, at the same time as respecting those who differ from them. It is important, at this moment in which deeply held and irreconcilable views of marriage have been contested, to affirm and strengthen this tradition. Source: CCN

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