Happy New Year!

2010 fades and 2011 approaches. Now is ‘the hour’ for us to stop and find peace of heart through reconciling contradictions within us and around us. As we put the disappointments and regrets of the year behind us, and are grateful for the many blessings we have received of family, new relationships, friendship and love, we are invited to light a candle for those we love, for ourselves, in memory of the many who are unloved and for peace and light in this dark world.

Archbishop Nichol's Pastoral Letter for the Feast of the Holy Family

ARCHBISHOP’S HOUSE,
WESTMINSTER, LONDON, SW1P 1QJ
26 December 2010
Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Over these last two days, we have been giving and receiving presents. This often
brings moments of excitement and happiness. But could I add this thought: the best
Christmas present we can give each other is that of joy. This thought, which comes
from Pope Benedict, has been in my mind throughout Advent and it is there again
today, the Feast of the Holy Family.
The joy we give to each other comes from the promise of God ‘to be with us always’.
That’s the meaning of ‘Emmanuel’ – ‘God with us’ – a promise fulfilled in the child
whose birth we celebrate.
This Feast of the Holy Family encourages us to be full of the joy which comes from
the Lord and to offer it to each other.
The first reading, from Isaiah, reminds us of the link between the generations. It calls
for respect and love of children for their parents and it promises that ‘whoever
respects his father will be happy with children of his own.’ (Ecclesiasticus 3:6)
We know that love and joy is often expressed so freely between grandparents and
grandchildren. They have a freedom and spontaneity which is quite special. They
need each other for there is so much to give and receive across the family generations.
We should not pretend that children are best left to find their own way, either at home
or in school. Life is not a blank sheet of paper waiting for each separate person to
create their own story. Across the generations we belong to each other. Within a
family we share wisdom. From our past we shape a future, as well as working so that
the future can help redeem past mistakes.
The family of the Church, too, has a deep, human wisdom to share. It is intertwined
with the stories of our families. St Paul describes so much of it in that second reading
we have heard.
Today we think about how to share and build our family wisdom. By doing this we
strengthen the very foundations of our society.
Continued/2
- 2 -
We need time together. We need to listen to each other’s experience. We then come to
appreciate the wisdom that is part of our family tradition, something to be passed on
in love.
A family also needs to pray together. That prayer needs to be supported by visible
signs around the house. Your home is a blessed place. God lives there. I trust there are
signs of that presence: a crib for Christmas; a crucifix in each bedroom; a statue of
Our Lady or a favourite saint. These are reminders of our wider family of the Church
and the divine love we share.
All the members of a family also need to practice respect for each other. Yes, we
respect each other in our differences. We may rejoice in those differences. At the
same time we strive to keep up a shared standard of behaviour.
The family is also a place where we know we need each other’s help. At times such
mutual dependence can feel like a burden. Yet it is also a gift for each other, for
helping those whom we love is a source of real joy.
Forgiveness, too, is the hall-mark of a family. Forgiveness always involves giving
way to another, giving up some point of pride or opinion. That’s why our Catholic
practice of self-denial, on a Friday for example, is such a good thing. It helps us to
appreciate that forgiveness involves self-sacrifice.
All of these small daily actions: listening, prayer, practical respect, offering help and
forgiveness make up the love which holds a family together. The presents you have
given to each other this Christmas represent that love. I hope they have been giftwrapped
with joy.
May God bless you all this Christmas and in the New Year.
Yours devotedly
Vincent Nichols
Archbishop of Westminster

Clean air? Take care! campaign

Clean Air? Take Care! Campaign















Belief in the inherent dignity of the human person is the foundation of all Catholic social teaching. Human life is sacred, and the dignity of the human person is the starting principle for a moral vision for society. This principle is grounded in the idea that each person is made in the image of God. The person is the clearest reflection of God among us. Therefore all persons are endowed with inalienable rights, which should be preserved and protected by governments through necessary legislation, where society, industry and commerce fail to do so. Health and safety regimes are a secular means by which this principle can be advanced.

The International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM) supports the Clean Air? Take Care! Campaign, which aims to raise awareness of the dangers of exposure to hazardous substances such as dusts, fumes and solvent vapours, which could cause occupational respiratory diseases. Whilst this campaign is principally aimed at UK workplaces, we should not forget workers in the developing world who often will not have access to basic measures to protect their health, welfare and safety. Look at the picture heading up this post. Would you want to work for an employer who thinks so little of you that he would leave you to devise your own safety measures, in this instance respiratory protective equipment?

The Clean Air? Take Care! campaign was launched on 23 March 2010. Developed in conjunction with the Health and Safety Executive and other leading industry stakeholders, the campaign aims to raise awareness of the dangers of exposure to hazardous substances such as dusts, fumes and solvent vapours, which could cause occupational respiratory diseases. It is estimated that up to 12,000 deaths each year currently could be due to past exposures to hazardous substances.
The FIT3 survey, commissioned by the HSE, showed that 21% of employers considered that their employees could face a risk of breathing problems or asthma caused by working with chemicals, dusts and fibres. Another survey by HSE indicated that 29% of workers regarded themselves as regularly having to breathe in dust or fumes that could cause respiratory conditions and nearly half thought that the risks could be realistically reduced. Those using respiratory protective equipment (RPE) are often still not adequately protected due to poor selection, use and maintenance of the equipment. This is self evident from a variety of sources including HSE’s enforcement database. Many fatalities in confined spaces/oxygen deficient atmospheres could have been prevented if the RPE was correctly selected and used.

Through Clean Air? Take Care! the IIRSM hopes that people will become more aware of the issues surrounding respiratory hazards and the incorrect selection of RPE, helping to protect today’s workforce and resulting in a significant reduction in related illnesses and fatalities.

For full details on this campaign visit http://www.cleanairtakecare.org/



IIRSM is a professional membership body that provides recognition, information, support and enhancement for health and safety professionals and specialist members related to the health and safety field.

The International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM) was established in 1975 as a professional body for health and safety practitioners. It was created to advance professional standards in accident prevention and occupational health throughout the world.
Over the last three decades IIRSM has grown from a collective group of UK health and safety professionals to a thriving International Institute spanning over 70 countries.

The Institute's Objectives:

The Institute’s main objective is to advance public education in accident prevention and occupational health in industry. To achieve this, the Institute:

• Promotes research into accident prevention and occupational health and publishes the results
• Encourages individuals to adopt health and safety best practice and help prevent accidents
• Advises anyone entering the health and safety field to undertake training and obtain professional qualifications
• Exchanges information with equivalent bodies throughout the world


Visit the web site for IIRSM at this link: http://www.iirsm.org/

The Directory for the Formation of Permanent Deacons in England and Wales has been published by the Bishops’ Conference.

The Directory for the Formation of Permanent Deacons in England and Wales has been published by the Bishops’ Conference. This document operates within the parameters on the 1998 Basic Norms for the Formation of Permanent Deacons and the Directory for Ministry and Life of Permanent Deacons.

The foreward written by the Rt. Rev. Terence Drainey, Bishop of Middlesbrough says

“Over the past years, the Permanent Diaconate has become a rich part of ordered ministry within the dioceses and parishes of England and Wales. This ministry is rooted in God’s Word, the Sacramental life of the Church gathered at the Altar, and lived out in the virtue of Charity.

The Introduction to this Directory states:

This Directory is now to be used in order to guide ongoing work to make the permanent diaconate an integral part of the life of the Catholic Church in England and Wales for the benefit of us all as we strive to witness to the Gospel in our countries.

I wish to thank, on behalf of the Bishops, those who have contributed to the writing of this Directory, especially Fr Ashley Beck, Mgr Paul McPartlan, Fr Bernard Massey and Fr John Watts, and those others who have helped with the drafting of the final text, especially Fr Michael Cooke and Fr Paul Embery and members of the Bishops’ Committee for Ministerial Formation.

We pray that the good work that has begun will, through God’s grace, be brought to fulfillment.”

You can get a link to the document at this post on the diaconate.org.uk website here:

http://www.diaconate.org.uk/2010/12/new-directory-for-formation-in-england-and-wales/

Our Father......a two minute reflection