De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

On the 6th of November 2013, Maryvale held their annual award ceremony at St. Chad's Cathedral, Birmingham. This was the perfect opportunity for Archbishop Bernard Longley, President of Maryvale, to address the students with regard to the recent events at the institute. This is a transcript of his address in full:

Archbishop Longley's Welcoming Address
As President of the Maryvale Institute I am delighted to welcome you today to this ceremony for the Presentation of Higher Education Awards. For me this is an opportunity to recognise afresh the significance of the Maryvale Institute within the Archdiocese of Birmingham. Maryvale offers a service within and from this local Church and one that is gladly received by many local Churches as well as individuals students here in the United Kingdom and overseas.

The local, ecclesial setting of the Maryvale Institute is important not only in understanding the Institute’s origins, history and development, but also because it sheds light o…

On Sunday, I got up early and gathered the family. We jumped in the car and drove up the M1 to Birmingham to Maryvale for a special day celebrating the life of Canon John Redford. He has developed Pancreatic cancer and is increasingly unwell. It was wonderful to have a day like this, perhaps before he withdraws completely from public life.

Maryvale is an International Catholic Distance-Learning College for Catechesis, Theology, Philosophy and Religious Education. It has been erected by the Holy See as an Ecclesiastical institute so that it can also offer degrees of the Holy See, at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

I studied theology at Maryvale for five years, graduating in 2011 with a level 2:1 BA (Hons) in Divinity (73%). I had lots of questions about my faith and found a lot of the more controversial aspects challenging and difficult to accept. I think like many people, I had slipped into a position where, never having heard the reasons for the Church's teaching on IVF, co…

On September 22nd it was announced that Dr. Caroline Farey, B.A.(Hons), M.Phil(Cantab), M.A.(Theol), STB, Ph.L, S.T.L, Ph.D(Lateran), and one of my favourite people in the whole world, has been appointed by the Holy See as an expert to the forthcoming Synod in Rome on The New Evangelisation for the Transmission of the Christian Faith, to be held from October 7th-28th.

She will join Deputy Director, Dr. Petroc Wiley, B.D., S.T.L., Ph.D, in Rome for this as he too has been appointed to the Synod.

Maryvale ask you all to offer prayers for a successful Synod and in thanksgiving to God for his generosity in enabling Maryvale to have two such wonderful members of staff represented at this historical event as well as for singling out Maryvale for its work in the transmission of the faith. Obviously this constitutes a powerful affirmation of the Holy See's regard for Maryvale with its new ecclesiastical status.

The appointments mean Petroc & Caroline will give their opinions and g…