“Do not give your children names that are not in the Christian calendar.” – Your near daily round-up of weird Vatican news
Ardent litigator targeting paedophile priests and the sex abuse cover-up heads for the UK.
A leading US litigator who has spent more than 20 years suing US-based paedophile priests and the church officials who moved them from parish to parish is joining a new legal practice dedicated to rooting out clerical sexual abuse in the UK.
Jeff Anderson has filed more than 1,500 lawsuits against the Catholic church in the US and thousands more against individuals and organisations, including those belonging to other Christian denominations.
His Minnesota firm says it is “aggressively committed” to child protection through civil litigation and he believes there is significant scope to expand this activity in the UK.
Anderson, whose firm recently represented all 23 plaintiffs in a suit that led to a US diocese filing for bankruptcy protection, will be working with Ann Olivarius, a solicitor who is already based in London, to expose offenders and seek justice for victims.
Continues: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/10/lawyer-paedophile-priests-us-uk
New envoy to the Vatican is a “temp” because no one wants the job.
David Cameron has appointed George Edgar as Britain’s temporary envoy to the Vatican after Ann Widdecombe turned down the role.
Having been surprised by a string of rejections for the role of Britain’s ambassador to the Vatican from such candidates as Ann Widdecombe, Lord Patten of Barnes and the MP Edward Leigh, David Cameron has been forced to turn to a trusted trouble-shooter.
Mandrake can disclose that George Edgar will be the interim chargé d’affaires to the Holy See when Francis Campbell leaves his post at the end of this month.
Oddly enough, the Church of England doesn’t want whole churches to be poached off by the Vatican.
Defecting priest feigns surprise. Tension between Catholics and Protestants…? It’s unheard of!
Anglicans defecting to Rome are being told they must leave their churches with clergy even been asked to move away from their parish.
They have worshipped together for decades on the pews of their parish church. Generations of their loved ones have been baptised, married and buried there.
But now a Church of England congregation is being torn apart by the Pope’s offer to welcome disaffected Anglican traditionalists into the Catholic Church.
… At St Barnabas the move towards Rome is being led by the vicar, Fr Ed Tomlinson. He believes that traditionalists who oppose the ordination of women have been badly let down by Church leaders.
But he has been told by the diocese of Rochester that if he and his followers leave the Church of England they will no longer be allowed to hold services, even on a shared basis, at St Barnabas…
And finally, the Pope tells you how to name your children.
The pope has declared war on parents’ growing insistence on shunning the saints and naming their children after fashion designers, Sanskrit titles and things that don’t mean much.
The Holy See fears that parents are choosing modish names such as Chanel, Swami and Pesche at the expense of Maria, Martina and Giuseppe, egged on by celebrity examples.
“Every baptism should ensure that the child is given a Christian name, an unmistakable sign that the Holy Spirit will allow the person to blossom in the bosom of the Church,” Benedict XVI said, while baptising 21 infants in the Sistine Chapel on Sunday. “Do not give your children names that are not in the Christian calendar.”
