Bishop Philip writes…
As people take to the streets on various campaigns, expressing all sorts of legitimate concerns, there is all the same, a worrying vacuum or chasm opening up beneath: a lack of sure and solid values, the loss of a common moral compass, the eclipse of an ethical code that can only come from a religious grounding. The relativisation of truth and the loss of our national Christian meta-narrative has undermined ethics. Our country is thus in danger of losing its way. Increasingly, restrictions on free speech indicate that we are on a slippery slope to a dictatorship of liberalism. To put it bluntly once again, one in three babies are now aborted, yet society has become numb to this. Suicide for the elderly and the sick will soon be normal, then in time euthanasia and eugenics. Again, people in time will no doubt become numb to all of that, shrugging their shoulders and saying, “What can we do?” This is why England needs the Catholic Church and the message of Good News we bear! As disciples, we must witness to the true and equal dignity of every human life, from conception to natural death, whilst caring for the weak and the vulnerable. We must also present our faith in Christ in a gentle and attractive manner, showing how it leads to the fulness of life. In all of this, we must accompany never condemn. We must pray, inform ourselves, speak kindly and propose by example an alternative culture, the culture of Christ, the culture of life. This September, let us pray and work earnestly for the evangelisation and conversion of our beloved land.
Meanwhile, welcome to this e-News for Tuesday 16th September 2025. There’s a lot of news to report this week. If you have a good news story to tell or a diocesan event to advertise, please email Deacon Craig for inclusion in the next edition. Have a blessed week ahead.
In Corde Iesu
+ Philip
Bishop of Portsmouth
[Image: Outlook India]
