The
Family
Family
& Youth Concern's annual conference
In
welcoming members to last month's annual conference
of Family & Youth Concern (FYT), the Trust's
Chairman, Arthur Cornell, expressed the hope that
there was on the horizon a new awareness of the
contribution that stable family life can make
to the wellbeing and the economy of the nation.
Research
continued to show that the best way to beat stress
or to sustain good health was to have a happy
marriage, and in spite of all the depressing statistics
regarding family breakdown, the vast majority
of young people still wanted to marry.
While
loving tight-knit families where firm discipline
is exercised were producing happy children unlikely
to take refuge in binge drinking, drug experimentation
and casual relationships, the high social costs
of family decline were not hard to see. There
were mounting concerns over the number of assaults
on teachers, many teenagers tended to spend more
time with their peers than with family members,
and there was a worrying rise in the gang mentality.
Mr
Cornell referred to a conference he had attended
to discuss some of the themes themes raised by
Sue Palmer's book, Toxic Childhood. He had been
dismayed to find that it had not been possible
to reach a consensus even on a proposition as
basic as stating 'children need to be loved'.
He feared that many of the professionals attending
the conference were not so much interested in
the welfare of children as in propounding their
own theories for putting things right.
In
his report to the conference, FYC's Director Norman
Wells asked, What will Cordon Brown's Premiership
mean for the family? Will it be more of the same,
or will it mark a turning-point in the direction
of family policy? Gordon Brown is, of course,
himself married with two children. Last year he
told a national newspaper that his experience
of becoming a father had changed his approach
to life and politics (1). Earlier this year, in
a speech to the Equal Opportunities Commission,
he stated: 'I will always he pro family and pro
marriage ' (2)
But
what does that mean in practice? As Chancellor
of the Exchequer he scrapped what was left of
the married couples' tax allowance, and he is
strongly opposed to its reintroduction. He has
relentlessly pursued fiscal policies that treat
all family forms as equal, even to the point where
some couples are better off financially if they
remain unmarried.
Despite
his claim to be pro-marriage, he has failed to
acknowledge the evidence that shows the importance
of marriage for the wellbeing of children, and
refuses to make what he describes as `ideological
judgments' about family life.
Pro-family?
At
the end of 2004, in his pre-budget report, Gordon
Brown referred to the 'enduring Beveridge Report
principles': 'that the family is the bedrock of
society; that nothing should he done to remove
from parents their responsibilities to their children;
and that it is in the national interest to help
parents meet their responsibilities.'
Yet,
having said that, he has always been a keen advocate
of the government's strategy for early years and
childcare, and has supported the expansion of
free nursery provision, the extended schools programme,
and the growth of children's centres. The New
Statesman magazine once dubbed him 'the great
feminist' for his efforts to get women into the
workplace.(3)
Abiding
principles
Irrespective
of what Mr Brown does, there are three things
that we must carry on doing:
1.
We must go on presenting the facts.
Facts
matter. There is such a thing as truth, and we
shall not shy away from saying so. Our society
has embraced relativism to such an extent that
there's a tendency for people to think and speak
and act as if everything were a matter of feelings
and experience - as if hard, objective facts don't
exist any more.
When
I was speaking to Channel 4 and stressing that
the explicit style of sex education shown in the
series presented by Davina McCall was not widespread
in the Netherlands at all, the officer I spoke
to kept saying, 'I'm sorry you feel that way.'
I said to her, 'My feelings don't come into it.
What I'm talking about is in the realm of facts.
It's simply not true to say that all Dutch schools
teach sex education like you say they do.' `That's
your opinion,' she said!
There's
this constant failure to distinguish between feelings
and opinions on the one hand, and facts and truth
on the other. If the truth isn't to your liking,
and if the facts don't fit with your preconceived
ideas, it's all too easy to write them off as
mere 'feelings' or 'opinions'. But there is such
a thing as truth, and there are moral absolutes.
And
so, in our publications, in interviews with the
press and media, and in our submissions to government
consultations, we shall go on presenting the facts.
It may not always be popular, but we need to go
on 'telling the truth'.
2.
We must go on saying that the family unit, consisting
of a husband and wife and their children, lies
at the heart of a stable society.
There
was a time not so long ago, when you didn't need
to spell out what you meant by a family, but now
you have a government and a civil service that
celebrates 'a diversity of family forms', it has
become necessary to define your terms much more
carefully.
With the advent of so-called same-sex marriages
in some countries and same-sex civil partnerships
in others, you can't even talk of the importance
of marriage any more without making it clear you
are talking about a heterosexual marriage - a
marriage between a man who was born male and a
woman who was born female.
Children
need both a father and a mother. Not so long ago
that was self-evident and non-controversial. If
you say it now, you can end up with the police
on your doorstep, and find yourself excluded from
some areas of public service.
3.
We must go on saying that parents are responsible
for the welfare and the education of their children
The
primary responsibility for all aspects of the
care and welfare of children rests with parents.
Not the government, not the local authority, not
the DfES, not Ofsted, not Connexions. not the
children's commissioner.... and so the list could
go on as the number of agencies and quangos with
an interest in our children grows year by year.
It's
parents who are responsible for the education
of their children. Section 7 of the 1996 Education
Act states:
'The
parent of every child of compulsory school age
shall cause him to receive efficient full-time
education suitable - (a) to his age, ability and
aptitude, and (b) to any special educational needs
he may have, either by regular attendance at school
or otherwise.'
I
stress this because many parents are not aware
of the fact that whether they educate their children
outside the school system or send their children
to school, they remain responsible for the education
of their children. The school exists to assist
the parents in the discharge of their legal responsibilities.
We
need to make parents more aware of that, so that
they aren't so intimidated when their child's
school introduces a progressive sex education
programme or sets up a clinic providing contraception
and the morning-after pill the confidential provision
of. It's not that we need to give parents more
responsibility for the education of their children,
but we need to encourage them to take more seriously
the responsibilities that are already theirs in
law.
(1) The Mirror, 6 February 2006.
(2) Speech to EOC 7 March 2007.
(3) New Statesman, 30 August 1999.
[Family
& Youth Concern. Website: www.famyouth.org.uk]
1372.3
Europe
Irish
abortion case
Ireland's
Health Service Executive (HSE) could be investigated
by the European Commission following its unsuccessful
attempt to stop a 17-year-old girl from travelling
to Britain for an abortion. Dutch MEP Kartika
Tamara Liotard claimed the HSE breached the rights
of a patient mobility within the EU. She has asked
the commission to investigate the Miss D case,
in which Ireland's High Court ruled a four months'
pregnant teenage girl could not be legally stopped
from travelling to Britain for a termination.
The MEP also raised a separate case relating to
abortion rights in Poland. She is expecting to
get a response to her inquiry within weeks. [Sunday
Business Post, SPUC] 1372.4
The
Radical Onslaught
English
bishop takes a firm stand
Firm stand by Lancashire bishop. Bishop Patrick
O'Donoghue of Lancaster says he sees no way in
which Catholic adoption agencies can survive under
new equality laws. In a letter to priests and
the Catholic Caring Services of his diocese, Bishop
O'Donoghue said that the new Sexual Orientations
Regulations (SORs), which could force adoption
agencies to place children with homosexual couples,
cannot be squared with a Catholic conscience.
"Having studied the options', he wrote, 'I
cannot see how we can accept the legislation,
even under duress." He rejected the possibility,
currently being considered in some dioceses, of
an "arms-length" solution, in which
the Church would remove itself from direct involvement
in its adoption agencies. "An arms-length
approach ... seems to involve cooperation in something
that we oppose," said the bishop. "Nor
can I see a way of committing an initial Church
contribution to setting up such an agency. I favour
rejection, thus withdrawal from adoption and fostering
from December 2008 if all else fails." In
response to the letter a spokesman for the Bishops'
Conference of England and Wales said that the
Church's position on adoption agencies had not
changed and that Bishop O'Donoghue's letter represented
"his own views". In his letter Bishop
O'Donoghue urged the faithful to submit their
comments to him on the matter.
[Bishop
O'Donoghue's address is Bishop's Apartment, Cathedral
House, Balmoral Road, Lancaster LA 1 3BT. Tel
01524 32231. Fax 01524 849296] [CFNews] 1372.5
Radical
homosexual strategy
The
Catholic Family Institute (C-Fam) reports from
New York on the admitted strategy of radical homosexuals
to use UN documents to force their agenda on governments.
The homosexuals are emboldened in recent months
by their acceptance as NGO by the UN Economic
and Social Council. Their agenda, however, has
run into a road block called the Organization
of the Islamic Conference.
Samantha
Singson writes : 'Claiming that "the
tide has turned" in favor of homosexual rights
at international institutions, University of British
Columbia professor Douglas Sanders' recent paper
on "Sexual Orientation in International
Law" published by the International Lesbian
and Gay Association (ILGA) includes a detailed
history on how homosexual rights have advanced
in Europe and how the European example could be
followed at the United Nations.
Sanders,
the first openly gay individual to address the
UN and deliver a speech on homosexual issues,
concedes that "sexual orientation" and
"gender identity are not mentioned in any
of existing international human rights instruments"
but that "through invoking provisions on
personal privacy and general provisions on equality,"
homosexuals have been able to gain some recognition
in the international human rights arena. Many
Member States of the UN would disagree with Sanders
analysis. The European Union is another story,
though.
According
to Sanders analysis of the EU, two essential elements
have laid the foundation for the advancement of
the homosexual agenda: the repeal of any anti-homosexual
criminal laws and the prohibition of discrimination.
With these two elements in place, Sanders details
a progression of homosexual rights in the realms
of parental custody, inheritance laws, immigration
rights for same-sex partners, government-sponsored
educational programs against any criticism of
homosexuality in schools as well as paving the
way for cases challenging laws against same-sex
unions and homosexual adoption.
Homosexuals
have not been so successful, however, at the United
Nations. After repeated attempts, homosexual rights
activists have failed to gain inclusion of "sexual
orientation" on the non-discrimination category
list in UN documents and conferences. Only one
UN resolution, on extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary
executions, includes an explicit reference to
the term.
While
no existing international human rights instrument
explicitly recognizes "sexual orientation,"
UN bodies such as the Human Rights Committee have
interpreted terms such as "other status"
and "sex" to include it. Activists have
brought discrimination cases before the committee
in attempts to secure recognition of same-sex
unions using the "right of men and women
of marriageable age to marry and to found a family."
The
most high profile attempt to introduce "sexual
orientation" into the UN system, a resolution
on "Human Rights and Sexual Orientation"
introduced by Brazil at the 2003 Commission on
Human Rights, failed after strong opposition.
In condemning it, the Pakistani delegate, on behalf
of the Organization of the Islamic Conference
(OIC), called it an attempt "to develop norms
which directly contradict fundamental value systems."
The incident is indicative of the deep divide
on the issue between the EU, Canada and Brazil
on one hand, and the OIC, Africa, and much of
Latin America on the other.
Pro-family
groups note that "sexual orientation"
is not part of any binding UN document and warn
that homosexual activists would use a non-discrimination
clause in a UN document to argue for recognition
of same-sex "marriage" and for hate
crimes legislation. Muslim and Christian groups
fear that accepting the term "sexual orientation"
could deny religious faiths the freedom to criticize
the homosexual lifestyle. [C-Fam] 1372.6
Freedom
of speech in jeopardy in the UK
Religious
leaders and pro-family advocates in the United
Kingdom are concerned that the new prime minister's
promise to advance homosexual rights at home and
abroad will jeopardize protections for freedom
of speech and religious expression. Fr. Timothy
Finigan told LifeSiteNews.com that Prime Minister
Gordon Brown's assurances that he would continue
to promote the homosexual political agenda are
an indication of how closely the Labour Party
is following homosexual efforts to outlaw all
opposition, particularly religious opposition
in schools. Fr. Finigan is a Catholic theology
professor and founder of the Association of Priests
for the Gospel of Life. Brown recently told the
homosexual online news centre PinkNews that his
government would continue to promote the homosexual
political agenda and praised the work of the Labour
party in this regard to date. "I think this
government has made a huge amount of progress:
for example, we've equalized the age of consent,
repealed Section 28 [that banned promotion of
homosexuality 'as a pretended family relationship'
in schools], and made it illegal to discriminate
on grounds of sexual orientation," Brown
wrote on PinkNews. He promised that his
government would work to advance human rights
worldwide, including the universal decriminalization
of homosexuality. Brown also promised that the
newly established Commission for Equality and
Human Rights would be employed to change attitudes
toward homosexuality and to ensure "anti-discrimination
laws are enforced." One of the important
areas left, he said, is to "tackle homophobic
bullying in schools," the next goal identified
by the hugely successful homosexual lobby group
Stonewall. Fr. Finigan told LifeSiteNews.com that
"homophobic bullying" refers to not
allowing schools to promote natural marriage and
the family as normative. All human rights organizations,
Fr. Finigan said, now work on the principle that
homosexuality is the equivalent of race, with
homosexual sex being the "racial" characteristic
that defines the homosexual person. To criticize
this activity as sinful, therefore, becomes discrimination.
Given this principle, it is likely that the government's
new commission will be used to stifle moral opposition
to homosexual activity, especially in religious
schools, said Fr. Finigan. [CNA] 1372.7
How
can Ofsted say this?
A recent Ofsted report on the teaching of Personal
Social and Health Education (PSHE) was dismissive
of attempts to encourage children to save sex
for marriage. The report claimed: 'There is no
evidence...that abstinence-only education reduces
teenage pregnancy or improves sexual health. There
is also no evidence to support claims that teaching
about contraception leads to increased sexual
activity. Research suggests that education and
strategies that promote abstinence but withhold
information about contraception can place young
people at a higher risk of pregnancy and sexually
transmitted infections (STIs). ' In correspondence
with Family & Youth Concern (FYC), Ofsted
revealed that these claims are based on research
published by the Sex Education Forum, a body ideologically
opposed to the idea that sex belongs in marriage.
However, when FYC pressed Ofsted on what account
they had taken of research showing the success
of abstinence education, they said they had not
taken any account of it because the report was
`based, in the main, on first-hand evidence from
inspectors' visits to schools'.
The
Ofsted report also stated that 'School nurses
can...provide a valuable service, particularly
in terms of providing emergency hormonal contraception
and advising on other forms of contraception.'
When FYC asked Ofsted how they could say this
when research consistently showed that supplying
the morning-after pill was not making the slightest
difference to teenage pregnancy and abortion rates,
they lamely replied that pupils said they found
it useful and helpful. 'Apparently', notes FYC,
'in the view of the Office for Standards in Education,
if pupils value being able to get contraception
and the morning-after pill from the school nurse,
in strict confidence without Mum and Dad knowing,
that makes it a valuable service! It doesn't bode
well for children when the body responsible for
improving standards in schools is blindly following
the dictates of the sex education establishment
and the teenage pregnancy unit, and when it can't
tell the difference between what children say
they value and what is truly valuable'. [FYC]
Meanwhile, widespread promiscuity and unsafe are
fuelling rising rates of sexually transmitted
infections amongst teenagers, health watchdogs
said on Friday. The Health Protection Agenncy
(HPA) warned that efforts to tackle the increase
in STIs were being hampered by young people being
bombarded with images and messages that encouraged
casual sex. [Telegraph] 1372.8
www.cfnews.org.uk
International
news
CHINA
New bishop is 'good and qualified'
Although he was not appointed by the Holy See,
the new Bishop of Beijing is "a very good
and qualified individual," the Vatican Secretary
of State told reporters at a July 18 news conference.
Cardinal Tarciscio Bertone said that the appointment
of Father Joseph Li Shan was "a very positive
sign"-- thus adding support to the belief
that the appointment, made by an "independent"
process, announced in Beijing represented an informal
compromise between the demands of the Vatican
and those of the Chinese regime. Father Li's name
had reportedly been on a list of possible candidates
that had been quietly submitted to the Vatican
and roused no objections. And the AsiaNews service
reported that Chinese Catholics were pleased with
the appointment, noting that the bishop-elect
has carefully maintained his independence from
the government-controlled Catholic Patriotic Association.
Further evidence that the appointment was a delicate
compromise came from the UCAN news service in
Asia, which reported that no government officials
were present when Catholics in Beijing selected
Father Li Shan to be the next bishop of the Chinese
capital. UCAN also said that his nomination was
informally cleared with representatives of the
"underground" Church. [CWNews] 1372.9
CHINA
Pope Benedict XVI's letter
An
"underground" bishop in northeastern
China issued a two-page pastoral letter July 12,
asking his flock to study and act on the letter
Pope Benedict XVI recently wrote for Catholics
in Mainland China. According to a report by UCA
News, Bishop Joseph Wei Jingyi of Qiqihar said
the Pope's lengthy letter, released on June 30,
marks a new milestone in the development of the
Chinese Church. The 48-year-old bishop also asked
the faithful to pray for the unity of the diocese
in the next three months, to adore the Blessed
Sacrament and to fast three days a week. In his
pastoral letter, Bishop Wei admits that a challenge
is presented by the Holy See's revocation of faculties
and pastoral directives previously granted to
the underground Church community. Though this
development is painful, the bishop says, it puts
China's Church back on the right track. Acknowledging
the Pope's call for reconciliation between the
"open" and "underground" Church
communities, the bishop said he wishes to reconcile
with five of his priests who rejected his leadership
last September. UCA News reported that those priests
were unhappy that the bishop dialogued with the
government and registered worshipping venues.
The priests viewed these actions as no different
from joining the Catholic Patriotic Association
and the "open" Church.
However, Bishop Wei's pastoral letter asserts
that registering churches with the local government
conforms to what the Pope said: Catholics can
dialogue with the authorities on aspects of Church
life that fall within the civil sphere. Bishop
Wei told UCA News that some Church premises in
his diocese have been registered since the early
1980s, when religious activities revived in the
mainland. His letter insists that these decisions
were based on consensus among his priests and
in accordance with Catholic doctrine. He asks
his laypeople to understand his goodwill and his
difficulties, and to trust the decisions made.
He also states in his pastoral letter that "we
finally know clearly" that underground Catholics
can be in sacramental communion with open Church
clergy who are in communion with the Pope. But,
he underlines, that in his diocese, some "open"
priests are not in communion with him nor with
other Holy See-recognized bishops. He also said
he hopes his priests will approach the issue of
concelebrating Mass with those clergy with "a
positive attitude and the principle of reconciliation."
Subsequently, Cardinal Joseph Zen of Hong Kong
issued a cautionary note about the move to register
worshipping venues with the government and concelebrating
with Patriotic Association clergy that reject
the Pope. "What precedes in the [Pope's]
letter seems rather to discourage them from seeking
recognition because, as the letter says: 'In not
a few particular instances, indeed almost always,
in the procedure of recognition, the intervention
of agencies obliges the people involved to adopt
attitudes (accept an independent Church), make
gestures (concelebrate with illegitimate bishops)
and undertake commitments (join the Patriotic
Association) that are contrary to the dictates
of their conscience as Catholics,'" the cardinal
reportedly said. [CNA] 1372.10
GERMANY
Religious education
Cardinal
Georg Sterzinsky of Berlin has revealed that he
has been unable to reach agreement with government
leaders on the issue of religious education. Church
leaders had sought to have religious education
recognized as an alternative to the ethics classes
that are offered in public schools. The Lutheran
Church in Germany had supported that proposal,
and in fact collecting citizens' signatures on
a petition calling for a referendum on the question.
To date, the only response from Berlinâ?Ts
mayor, Klaus Wowereit, has been to promise the
archdiocese money for the renovation of its St.
Hedwig cathedral and express his hope that Pope
Benedict XVI will visit the German capital. [CWNews]
1372.11
GERMANY
Embryonic stem-cell research
The
National Ethics Council of Germany has voted narrowly
in favour of changing the law to make embryonic
stem cell research easier. The body, which advises
the German government, said 14 of its 24 members
voted in favour of abolishing a previously imposed
cut-off date of January 2001 for such research.
The German Catholic bishops' conference said:
"We must not subordinate the protection of
life to the freedom of research." Reuters
reported that genetic research was a sensitive
subject in the country because of Nazi experiments
with creating a master race. [Reuters UK, SPUC]
1372.12
IRELAND
Saint Patrick's Day
Religions
celebrations for St. Patrick's Day will come two
days early in Ireland next year to avoid a conflict
with Holy Week. St. Patrick's Day is usually celebrated
March 17, but Ireland's bishops have shifted the
feast day, in honour of the national saint, to
Saturday, March 15, reported The Associated Press.
Church authorities reportedly spent weeks debating
where to move the feast day because March 17,
2008, falls on the second day of Holy Week next
year. The liturgical norms would require the feast
day to be moved to the earliest available date
after Easter, which would be April 1. But church
officials said the Vatican approved the March
15 date in order to minimize conflict with the
scheduled civic events. While religious celebrations
honouring St. Patrick are affected, religious
and secular authorities stressed this would not
change secular festivities. The St. Patrick's
Festival Committee in Dublin confirmed that next
year's parade would be March 17 as usual. In addition,
Monday, March 17, will remain an official day
off of work in Ireland. This marks the first time
the date has been changed since 1940. The next
conflict with Holy Week is not expected until
2160. [CNA] 1372.13
PERU
UNPF applies the pressure
US-funded organisations in league with the United
Nations Population Fund are reportedly putting
pressure on the Peruvian government and medical
establishment to legalise abortion. Having been
unsuccessful in pushing for abortion on demand
in Peru's congress, these groups are trying to
redefine the health in existing laws to include
the psychological health of the mother, which
would then permit abortion to avoid emotional
suffering. This strategy is being used by the
abortion lobby throughout Latin America, the Population
Research Institute claims. [Lifesite, SPUC] 1372.14
POLAND
Mothers prefer to remain at home with their
children
Most
Polish mothers would prefer to remain home with
their young children, a survey shows, although
in practice the average Polish mother returns
to work 12 months after a child is born. A report
by the Millward Brown Market Research Institute
find that 60% of Polish mothers would like to
remain at home until their children are 2 years
old and that 50% would prefer to do so until a
child is 3. The report, organized in collaboration
with the St. Nicholas Foundation and the newspaper
Rzeczpospolita, found that 60% of Polish
mothers believe that children suffer when mothers
work. Only 17% of respondents believe that day
care at a place of employment is an adequate solution.
[CWNews] 1372.15
SPAIN
The spread of radical humanism
In
his weekly letter, Archbishop Agustin Garcia-Gasco
of Valencia said those who support the absolutism
of the State in the area of education are violating
the country's constitution and basic human rights.
"In many places in Spain," the archbishop
wrote, "there exists a wave of opinion that
seeks to spread radical secularism, with special
opposition to the Christian religion" and
to push relativism on the country's educational
system, including Catholic schools. Those who
support the radical secular agenda, he stated,
are "ignoring the mandates of the Constitution."
For centuries, the Church "has been the great
institution that has fostered education, before
the States created schools and promoted universities,"
the archbishop emphasized. The Church's educational
institutions have always reflected "her concern
for serving the development of the dignity of
the human being, of his personal growth and his
desire to know the truth." Archbishop Garcia-Gasco
reiterated that parents have the right to ensure
that their children "receive the religious
and moral formation that is in accord with their
convictions, within the context of freedom of
education." Such a right, he said, is enshrined
in Spain's Constitution, which "nobody can
harm or minimize," and the government has
the duty to "defend it and extend its principles."
He noted in conclusion that the "Catholic
school and university are at the service of education,
not because of a privilege or concession of the
State, but rather in order to offer this type
of Catholic formation to those who freely want
to receive it." Likewise, he noted, religion
classes in public schools "is not a concession
of the State, but rather a response to the right
of parents to ensure their children receive the
formation that is in accord with their own moral
and religious convictions." [CNA] 1372.16
UK
(Scotland)
Protest over law that would diminish the
role of fathers
Scotland's two most senior Catholics, Cardinal
Keith O'Brien and Archbishop Mario Conti, are
urging Prime Minister Gordon Brown to review new
legislation that would diminish the role of fathers.
In their July 13 letter, Cardinal O'Brien and
Archbishop Conti, the president and vice-president
of the Scottish Catholic bishops' conference,
claim the proposed Human Tissue and Embryology
Bill would constitute "a sweeping attempt
to rewrite traditional concepts of parenthood
and the family." The proposed legislation
would remove the current legal reference to a
child's need for a father, which, the prelates
said, could be very harmful to the long-term welfare
of children. Should the removal happen, "this
means that prior to provision of fertility treatment,
there will no longer be any requirement, nor guidance,
to consider the child's need for a father,"
they added. Cardinal O'Brien and Archbishop Conti
concluded: "We believe that the state should
not deny the child's need for a father nor ignore
a wealth of social research findings upholding
the notion that deliberately planning to have
fatherless children is inimical to their long-term
welfare." [Zenit] 1372.17
UK
Plater College
Cash
raised from the sale of Plater College, Oxford,
is to be used to fund an estimated £250,000
worth of grants each year, the Catholic Education
Service announced this week. The grants will be
focused on improving lay leadership, providing
education for marginalized people and encouraging
Catholic scholarship. £5.6 million was raised
from the sale of the college which was closed
in 2005 after inspectors expressed concerns about
alleged bullying, drug abuse, racism and sexual
harassment. [CF News] 1372.18
