De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

Today sees the funeral at Westminster Cathedral of Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor requiescat in pace.

Daniel Blackman has this honest and thorough analysis of the Cardinal's legacy:

He trained for the priesthood at the Venerable English College, Rome, where two of his brothers, Brain and Patrick, were also studying. He was ordained on 28 October 1956.

Ten years later he was chosen as private secretary to Bishop Derek Worlock of Portsmouth, a post he held until his return to the Venerable English College, Rome as its rector in 1971. The appointment as private secretary and rector were indications that the young Fr Cormac was being prepared for higher office.

Bishop and ‘Renew’

Blessed Pope Paul VI named Cormac bishop of the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton in 1977. Among the usual duties of a diocesan bishop, two things stood out during his 23 years of service.

First, he introduced the American ‘Renew’ program into the diocese in 1988, with the aim to make his diocese an engaged …

On Saturday, my attention was brought to an article in the Herald Scotland which suggests that the Vatican
"...has called a halt to the appointment of any more Scottish bishops until a full investigation into the Cardinal Keith O'Brien scandal is completed by Rome." Of course this move by Cardinal Marc Ouellet, the current prefect of the Congregation for the Bishops, which oversees the selection of new bishops, means three dioceses – Paisley, Dunkeld and Edinburgh – will not have their vacancies for a bishop filled for some time.

Apparently, the Congregation for the Bishops has instructed Archbishop Mennini, the Pope's ambassador in the UK, to keep the book open on Cardinal O'Brien and continue to gather evidence.

Surely this can only be another indication Pope Francis is turning his attention to the crisis engulfing the Catholic Church in UK? It certainly seems to me to signify a key change in the way these things are dealt with. Rather than brushing the whole s…

Wonders will never cease it seems! Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, the former archbishop of Westminster, has spoken out this morning, presenting a withering analysis in the Telegraph of the current 'shambolic' handling of the gay marriage debacle.


He eviscerates David Cameron's election commitment to strengthen marriage as an institution and is highly critical of Cameron's understanding of the nature of marriage. He also, rightly, attacks the Prime Minister's honesty in the Conservative Party's manifesto.

It could seem a little too little too late, but I have heard, and I do believe that Church leaders have been working hard behind the scenes to present a proper understanding of the argument in private. It now seems that they all are feeling a little betrayed by assurances received and are resorting to the only means of defending marriage left open to them, having instigated- and demonstrated the over-whelming public support for a proper understanding of m…