Archbishop's Pastoral Letter for the weekend of 29th Sunday, 19/20 October 2024

Webmaster • October 16, 2024

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,


I write to you about a serious matter. A bill has been introduced in Parliament which, if passed, will allow doctors to supply lethal drugs to people with an incurable illness, in effect physician-assisted suicide.


In today’s readings we are reminded that Jesus Christ entered fully into our suffering. “It is not as if we had a high priest who was incapable of feeling our weakness”, the letter to the Hebrews reminds us (Hebrews 4; 15). Jesus knew the reality of suffering and death from the inside. He gave His life for us all. Our experience of death and dying takes place against this transcendent horizon. We believe every person is made for God and called to be with God forever.


All human life is sacred. This message is not just for people of faith, but for all people of goodwill, because the proposals for physician-assisted suicide are not just contrary to the dignity and sanctity of life, they pose grave dangers to vulnerable people. Cherishing life means building a society where every person is included and the diversity of individuals is not seen as a burden.


If the bill were to become law, the experience of countries such as Canada, Belgium, Netherlands and some parts of the USA, shows that the most vulnerable very quickly feel at risk. In Oregon, often suggested as a model by proponents of assisted suicide in the UK, over 47 per cent of those who accept it cited being a burden on family, friends and caregivers as a reason. Belgium has extended an initial permission to adults, to allow voluntary euthanasia of children. It has seen some extraordinary individual cases – euthanasia for anorexia nervosa, euthanasia for someone who regretted gender reassignment, euthanasia of twin brothers who feared losing their sight.


Supporters of the bill will say that these cases are not possible under the proposed law in our country. Yet the history of such legislation shows that once permission is given for one set of circumstances it will soon be extended. We should not only be concerned

about this “slippery slope” in the proposed law. Nor should supporters of the bill try to see our opposition as a merely religious matter. The deeper question is the inherent dignity of every person, especially in relation to those who are disabled, elderly or vulnerable. If, as a society, we facilitate suicide for certain categories of people – in this case those who are terminally ill – and seek to prevent suicide of others – the healthy and the young – then what we are ultimately saying is that some lives are less worthy than others.


Those who argue for a change in the law say it is about dying, not about other vulnerable people. However, in framing their arguments, they appeal not to the reality of someone’s approaching death. They speak rather about the alleged indignity of being dependant on another, or of reduced mental capacity, or the fear of being a burden on family and friends. But to say, as a society, that these are intolerable would ultimately be to condemn every disabled, elderly and vulnerable person. It would open the flood gates and put huge pressure on the most vulnerable. There would be a sense that there was a duty to die. Many would feel insecure about the future and conclude that they are a burden on loved ones and the health service.


The new bill marks a very serious moment for our country. It raises serious questions about what sort of society we want to be. Especially of concern is whether we will continue to promote a proper care of the dying, and of those who are vulnerable through disability or age. We must treasure and value these individuals among us. Our countries have such a rich tradition of care for the dying. We should invest more in such care.


It is good to see that those opposed to a change in the law includes a diverse group of medical professionals (especially, but not only, from the field of palliative care), disability rights organisations, researchers, carers and a range of other concerned institutions and individuals.


I urge you write to, or email, your local MP, to express your concerns about the bill. There is information on the Right to Life – https://righttolife.org.uk – website and poster of how to do this. Thank you and please pray for me.


Yours devotedly,


By Webmaster September 26, 2025
This weekend, Fr. John Boles, Superior of the Columban Fathers in Britain, will celebrate all three weekend Masses and make an appeal on behalf of the Columban Missionaries. There will be a retiring collection for the Columban Missionaries at all Masses this weekend. You can also donate to the Columban Missionaries using a debit or credit card at the Electronic Donation Station at the back of St. Teilo’s or online at https://donate.mydona.com/st-teilo-our-lady-of-lourdes The Columban Missionaries were founded as the Irish (‘Maynooth’) Mission to China in 1918 and worked there until their expulsion in 1950, after which they went to serve in other countries in Asia and around the Pacific such as the Philippines, Taiwan, Korea, Pakistan, Myanmar, Chile and Peru. Fr. Boles has spent over 40 years as a Missionary in Latin America, principally in Peru.
By Webmaster September 26, 2025
Heddiw bydd y gymuned Gymraeg yn dathlu Offeren yn Gymraeg am 4.30pm.  Today, we welcome the Welsh language community who will be celebrating Mass in Welsh at 4.30pm. Croeso!
By Webmaster September 26, 2025
Rest in Peace Please pray for Sandra Chisnall, Pamela Fox and Gina Cumberlidge who have all died recently. Sandra’s Funeral Mass will take place at St. Teilo’s at 1pm on Friday, October 3 rd followed by interment at Pantmawr Cemetery. Pam’s Funeral Mass will take place at St. Teilo’s at 1pm on Friday, October 10th followed by cremation at Thornhill. Mrs Cumberlidge‘s Funeral Mass will be on Saturday, October 25th at 10am at St. Teilo’s.  Please also pray for those whose anniversaries occur at this time: Father Terence Shaw, Eileen Tyre, Mary Evans, Lucienne Metenier, Vernon James, Terence Monks, Margaret Morris, Lily Burnett, Millie Ropke, Mary Cook, Lucia Cushieri, Vincent Darney, Eileen Watson, Kathleen Norman, Philip Donovan, Margaret Morris, Jean Donovan, Melvin Davidson, Mary Harry, Mary Burrows, Gertrude Richardson, James Hoffman, Eileen McAlevy, Florence Coles, Elizabeth Jones, Angela Paines and Waltraud. MacLeod.
By Webmaster September 19, 2025
The Parish Knit and Natter group will meet in St. Teilo’s Hall on Thursday 25th September at 10.30am. All are welcome to come along and join in the knitting or the nattering or both!
By Webmaster September 19, 2025
The next social event as part of this centenary year will be “A Pie, A Pint and A Song Night” on Friday, October 10th from 7.30pm to 10.30pm at Rhiwbina Recreation Club. Tickets, priced at £5.00 will be available after mass on September 21st and 28th and October 5th. Tickets will include a pie (steak, chicken & mushroom vegan and gluten-free options available). The event will comprise of 30 minute intervals of songs followed by 30 minutes of time to chat. While performers are live, we ask that those attending to respectfully listen or if appropriate to sing along. If anyone would like to sing a song or recite a poem and for enquiries regarding this event, please contact John Steele on 07491677528. Due to spaces available song/poem slots will be on a first come first served basis.
By Webmaster September 19, 2025
• Are you someone without a formal religion who wants to be baptised in the Catholic faith? • Are you a Christian from another faith tradition who would like to be received into the Catholic Church? • Are you an interested inquirer who wants to find out more about the Catholic Faith? • Are you an adult who has missed out on the Sacrament of Confirmation? If any of the above applies to you, you are most welcome to join the Parish Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) programme which will run in the Parish Hall at St. Teilo’s on Wednesday evenings at 6pm beginning on Wednesday, October 15th . Please come along and discover more – attendance does not commit you to completing the programme but is designed to allow you to reflect on God’s call for you. (The Parish Hall is accessed from the back of the Church building, between the Church and the Priest’s House.)
By Webmaster September 19, 2025
With Canon away, there will be no weekday Mass at St. Teilo’s and Our Lady of Lourdes. St. Teilo’s will be open each day for people to spend time in private prayer. Many thanks to the small group of volunteers who are facilitating the Church opening by agreeing to open and lock the Church each day.  Weekday Mass is available in our neighbouring churches: Nazareth House (access to the chapel is through the door on Colum Road, lift assisted access is via the convent entrance) – Mass is celebrated at 10am at Nazareth House on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. (No Mass on Tuesday) St. Joseph’s – Mass is celebrated at St. Joseph’s at 9.15am on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday and at 7pm on Wednesday. The Three Churches – Mass is celebrated in the 3 churches as follows: Monday at 9.30am at St. Brigid’s, Tuesday at 9.30am at Christ the King, Wednesday at 9.30am at St. Paul’s, Thursday at 9.30am at Christ the King, Friday at 9.30am at St. Paul’s, Saturday at 9.30am at St. Brigid’s. St. Mary of the Angels and Holy Family –Mass is at 9.30am on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at St. Mary’s and at 9.30am on Thursday at Holy Family.
By Webmaster September 19, 2025
Today the Church celebrates Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel) Sunday. This year, the Church has been celebrating a significant anniversary. It is 1,700 years since the Council of Nicaea. At Nicaea, the great gathering of Bishops from around the Church began the work to formulate the Creed we proclaim Sunday by Sunday. It is the content of this Creed that is our mission as faithful followers of Jesus, so that we may know and love God in this life, in order to be happy with Him forever in the next. The Creed begins with a profound proclamation, “I believe…” This is the theme for Evangelii Gaudium Sunday 2025. To help in its Great Commission to proclaim the Good News, the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has a mission team which is based at their secretariat in Eccleston Square in London. This office supports the bishops in their work to promote the proclamation of the Gospel across England and Wales. The Mission team does this in several diverse areas, but all of which help to serve the kingdom of God. There will be a retiring collection at the end of all Masses this weekend to support the Department of Evangelisation and Discipleship to allow the Church to continue to spread the Good News proclaimed in the Church each time we say the Nicaean Creed. You can also donate using a debit or credit card at the Electronic Donation Station at the back of St. Teilo’s or online at https://donate.mydona.com/st-teilo-our-lady-of-lourdes
By Webmaster September 19, 2025
St. Teilo’s Friends of Divine Mercy Prayer Group meets on Saturday, September 27th at 2.30pm in the Parish Hall. Everyone is welcome to come along to pray for the parish and the intentions of the parishioners.
By Webmaster September 19, 2025
Liam Kelly, one of our parishioners, along with two others is undertaking an Ultra Run of 100 Kilometres (62 Miles) on October 11th to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association. Maureen Lewis a 90+ year old parishioner of St. Peter’s has been a lifetime supporter of the Association and has asked the three runners to support her on her final fundraising event for the Association. If you would like to sponsor Liam on the run please follow the link to the Just Giving Page - https://www.justgiving.com/page/maureenlewis - or donate in cash by signing the sponsor form at the back of the church.