Choosing the Common Good

The Bishops today launched Choosing the Common Good to present key themes in Catholic Social Teaching as a contribution to the wide-ranging debate about the values and vision that underpin our society.

The document anticipates the forthcoming general election, but the Bishops argue that finding a shared vision for society is more urgent than the detail of particular party policies. “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18). The Bishops argue that social issues cannot be left only to government to solve, but are the responsibility of all.

“The virtues form us as moral agents, so that we do what is right and honourable for no other reason than that it is right and honourable, irrespective of reward and regardless of what we are legally obliged to do. Virtuous action springs from a sense of one’s dignity and that of others, and from self-respect as a citizen. It is doing good even when no-one is looking.”

The document is available to download as a PDF from here.

Lenten House Groups

The Pastoral Area is offering something a little different this year during Lent...and the Easter season...

We have ambitiously chosen to look at the period of Jesus' final journey towards Jerusalem and his death, right through to the Resurrection and on to Pentecost.

The meetings have already started, but if you would like to join us, please click here.

St Swithun's 40th Anniversary

Congratulations to St Swithun's Church, who celebrated it's 40th anniversary this June. The homily by Jeremy Garratt is available to be read here. Thank you to everyone involved for making it such a special occasion. Photos from the celebration can be found in our gallery.

Human Fertilisation & Embryology Bill

The letter from Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor regarding the human fertilisation and embryology bill as read out by Father Dominic over the weekend of the 24th/25th November can be read again here.

The latest letter (Feb 2008) from Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor regarding the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill is available to read from here along with a list of local MPs for people to communicate their views with.

Live Simply

The statement from Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor for the livesimply Advent Service on 1st December can be downloaded from here.

The Lord's Prayer

Deacon David's altered version of an article by Fr Flor McCarthy S.D.B. exploring the emotion behind our Lord's Prayer is available to download from here.

To read these documents you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. If you do not have it installed, it is available as a free download from here.