I have heard from several sources, that Fr Philip Cleevely would sometimes (or often, depending on the source) stay up too late and be difficult to wake up in the morning. A crime I am often guilty of myself...

This is put forward as an "explanation" for his being evicted from his home, named and shamed in The Tablet, made to miss the beatification of the founder of his community, excluded from a Papal visit to his own home and forced to start a new life in another country.

Presumably the idea is that Canada is on a time zone he can handle?

Seriously? After more than a year this is the best you can come up with?

Let's get some perspective!

For three years, the Cardinal Archbishop of Barcelona has refused to act against a priest in his diocese who boasts openly of having financed abortions.

Now, the priest is a subject of a new book in Catalonian, “Fr. Manel: Closer to earth than to heaven”, which describes the ever-growing popularity of his charitable work with Spanish celebrities.  In addition to repeating his claim of having paid for abortions, Fr. Manel Pousa says he has performed “blessings” of homosexual unions, and endorses the creation of female “priests”, according to reports in the Spanish media.

He also states that he regards clerical celibacy as optional, and says he has a girlfriend—but claims that their relationship is celibate.

Although Pousa has never retracted any of his statements, his prelate, Cardinal Lluís Martínez Sistach, has only given Manel a verbal “warning”, leaving him in his place to continue his leadership of his parish and his other activities.

[link]

If priests who finance abortions and admit to having a girlfriend are given nothing more than 'a verbal "warning"' then do you seriously expect me to believe that Fr Cleevely has had his entire ecclesiastical career called in to question because he finds it hard to get up in the morning?

Obviously.

A poignant post from Matthew Doyle.

The man who Jack Valero said would be "back soon" has now been in exile for 269 days. Turns out I was right, his exile is to be permanent.

Here's the "official" version of events from the Birmingham Oratory website...

Fr. Philip has been resident at the Toronto Oratory since last September, teaching philosophy and spirituality to the students in the seminary run by that community. He has found this work very satisfying.  Full use has been made of his intellectual gifts in the tasks assigned to him.  He has in consequence asked for a definitive transfer from the Birmingham Oratory to the Toronto Oratory.  The Fathers in Canada,  recognising the contribution he can make to their community’s  life and work, have agreed to his request.

We would like to thank Fr. Philip for his contribution to the life of the Birmingham house over the last twenty years.  We would also like to thank the Fathers of the Toronto Oratory, their Provost Fr. Jonathan Robinson, and Fr. Martin Hilbert and Fr. Daniel Utrecht who were such a support to us in the preparations for the Papal Visit.  Our two houses retain close fraternal bonds and we look forward to continued close collaboration in the future.

[Source: Birmingham Oratory Homepage]

Note the official version contains absolutely nothing by way of an explanation of how Fr Cleevely came to find himself resident in Toronto. That despite being an innocent man, despite twenty years residence at the Birmingham Oratory, Fr Cleevely was not allowed to be present in his own home during the Papal visit.

This is a family blog, so I will delete the last two paragraphs I wrote and leave it there.

Today is the one hundredth day of exile for The Birmingham Three.

One hundred days is not a short period of time. In one hundred days you could walk from Edinburgh to London and you would only need to cover four miles a day.

To get 100 days in prison you have to do something fairly serious. There was the priest who got 100 days in prison for stealing thousands of dollars from his Church. There was the man who got 100 days in prison for ignoring a stop sign on his motorbike and killing a man. Then there was the man who attacked his girlfriend who also got 100 days in prison.

The Birmingham Three - Fr Dermot Fenlon, Fr Philip Cleevely and Brother Lewis Berry - have done nothing wrong. This is official. Jack Valeo told me on Radio West Midlands that "there's no indication they've done something wrong, they've been punished or anything. these words are wrong they give the wrong impression". Ruth Dudley Edwards says that Jack "has confirmed unequivocally that the Three are entirely guiltless of any wrong-doing whatsoever, including, specifically, sexual misdemeanours or homophobia.

So why have they been exiled for 100 days?

Why has one of them been sent away for a year?

Why are rumours flying around all over the place that the other two will get an even worse sentence?

Today the story hits The Daily Telegraph and we learn a little more about the location of Frs Fenlon and Cleevely: "The Oratory has refused to explain why the three priests have been sent away – one is now in America, another in Canada and the third is going to South Africa"

If these three men have done nothing wrong then the obvious thing is to send them home, end the media speculation and lift the shadow from the Papal visit.

Here is the latest issue of the parish newsletter for the Oxford Oratory. You can always read the latest one on the Oxford Oratory Website which is where I got it.

I realise the writing is a bit small, so I have enlarged the important bit:

One wonders... If the Birmingham Oratory is so short staffed why not invite Fr Dermot Fenlon, Fr Philip Cleevely or Brother Lewis Berry to do it?

It seems strange to me that they are advertising at all considering the fact that the Birmingham Oratory is currently under visitation with no end in sight for the ongoing exile of three holy men. Surely the most important thing is to unite the existing community rather than making moves to replace them?

A parishioner from the Birmingham Oratory suggested some additions including the following:

"Candidates who are inclined to question official policy, or think for themselves need not apply."

Or rather, you may apply but the first interview might be held indefinitely at three separate monasteries hundreds of miles apart.

Update: I have removed a couple of comments on this blog entry that appeared to imply things about certain persons at the Birmingham Oratory which are potentially libelous. Please don't think this means I agree with all the comments I have not taken down.

John Smeaton writes...

What on earth are Catholics and non-Catholics to make of the situation? On the one hand three staunch pro-life, pro-family advocates suffer apparently peremptory ecclesiastical injustice. On the other hand Archbishop Nichols, just a couple of months ago, was painting the previous government's intentions on sex and relatonships education in an entirely postive light - when those intentions included continuing to enable the promotion and facilitation of abortion, contraception and homosexuality in schools, including Catholic schools.

What on earth is happening when, on the one hand, apparently peremptory ecclesiastical injustice can be unhesitatingly meted out to staunch upholders of Catholic teaching on life and the family, and, on the other hand, the appointment of a blatantly anti-life, anti-family former Member of Parliament to be deputy director of the Catholic Education Service is indignantly defended by representatives of the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales?

He quotes Dr Tom Ward, corresponding member of the Pontifical Academy for Life...

Three Oratorians have been condemned to an indefinite sentence of removal after abrupt eviction from their home at Cardinal Newman’s Oratory in Birmingham.

This penalty of an indefinite sentence to widely distant monasteries is ordinarily associated with very serious moral failings. However it appears that the investigative process was incomplete before they started their sentence. How therefore could there have been a verdict? Indeed was there even a charge? These men are attested by their own authorities to be innocent, virtuous and to have done no harm. They have an almost unrivalled track record in this country of defending life and the primary and inalienable right of parents as educators of their children. They are totally faithful to and outspoken in their defence of the Papal Magisterium.

...

It is a scandal that these men with outstanding ability to cooperate in the defence of the authentic understanding of Cardinal Newman’s teaching on conscience have been summarily removed from the Oratory which, in the light of the imminent Papal beatification of its founder, has now become the best platform in the world from which to defend Newman and the Papal Magisterium.

Remember how Archbishop Nichols handled the Terry Prendergast situation? He said nothing and waited. It fizzled away in to the past until it seems almost obsessive compulsive to mention it. He's doing the same with Greg Pope and the exact same thing is being done with the Birmingham Three.

Bring them home.

I didn't draw this (you can tell because the author has artistic skills)...

Meanwhile Anna Arco writes...

There were some doubts about whether the Pope would be able to go to the Birmingham Oratory because of controversies within the community. Two members were removed to abbeys in Leicestershire and Scotland last month while a third was sent home.

...

Fr Richard Duffield, the current Provost of the Birmingham Oratory, said: “It’s marvellous news. We’re utterly delighted.

[link]

Remember when this was first announced in The Tablet, they said...

A spokesman for the Oratory described the decision as an “internal domestic affair” but said that there had been disagreements in the community about how best to approach the beatification of their founder Cardinal John Henry Newman.

So there were "disagreements in the community about how best to approach the beatification" and now we hear that these "controversies within the community" lead to "doubts about whether the Pope would be able to go to the Birmingham Oratory".

These holy men were sent away for having the wrong views about the beatification of Newman. Put out of the way so that those with the 'correct' views could get on with doing things according to plan.

What is the the 'correct' view? Don't rock the boat!

Boat rockers will not be tolerated.

Listening on the Radio yesterday to Jack Valero speaking about the Birmingham Three, I couldn't help thinking that the more he spoke, the less sense it all made.

Jack's narrative in all this is that it's not a big deal. It's a minor, tiny, small internal matter that we wouldn't even have heard of if it were not for the beatification.

"of course you can make it big" he says.

Sending somebody away for a few days: Not big. Sending somebody away for seven weeks is getting bigger. If these guys are away until the beatification it will have been months which is bigger still.

It's not me that's making this big. The longer it goes on, the bigger it gets.

Want to make it small? Bring them home.

Jack said they had been "asked to go away and pray for a while". Well it's been a while now so bring them home.

Jack said "they are away now, they will come back". This is excellent news! It's also the first time anybody from the Oratory has confirmed that the three will be coming home. Why not bring them home now?

Jack said "We are working together, so there's no falling out and there's no casting away it's just a time away to cool down" but surely seven weeks is more than enough time to cool down so bring them home.

Jack said "they can come back soon and we can continue as normal". Soon... That's a good word. How about now?

Jack said "there's no indication they've done something wrong, they've been punished or anything. these words are wrong they give the wrong impression". If they haven't done anything wrong, why can't they come back?

It is ludicrous to claim that the three have done nothing wrong, are not being punished and there is "no falling out" and then to say that they must be away any longer.

This is getting bigger, but that can stop right now by bringing these men home.

A couple of days ago I was contacted by a fellow from BBC West Midlands Radio who wanted to know if I would be willing to give the story on why the Birmingham 3 have been sent away.

This morning I appeared opposite Jack Valero who gave the usual nonsense about it being an internal matter - you know, because Catholic parishes are just like McDonalds and the way they treat their "staff" is not your concern.

Then there's this thing about the three needing time "to recover" - that's a new one.

Recover from what?

The simple fact is that if these three men have been sent away over internal disputes, seven weeks should be more than enough time to sort things out and the excuse is wearing thin.

Still, I'm pretty sure I heard Jack say that this is not permanent and the three will be coming back. That's good news - unless it's a lie.

Of course, he didn't say when.

You can listen to it on iPlayer here until 7th June. My part begins at 1hr 35min ish.

Do priests serve a purely utilitarian function?

Do they exist to provide Mass and the other Sacraments over the counter like fast food? The same impersonal service. Welcome to McChurch, Would you like fries with that? Have a nice day...

Is that how it works?

Is that why Fr Ignatius Harrison thinks that parishioners of the Birmingham Oratory deserve no explanation as to why much loved spiritual directors have been "indefinitely" banished?

Parishioners of Birmingham Oratory write...

Despite sending two letters to Father Ignatius Harrison, on the advice of the Provost of Birmingham Oratory, we have received no reply. Clearly it is felt that as mere parents and parishioners we are owed no explanation, almost as if it is none of our business. There seems to be no particular concern for us as parents, trying to bring up our children in a world ferociously hostile to our Catholic values, deprived of two priests and a Brother who were like manna in the desert in terms of their courageous support. We simply cannot afford to lose their brave voices and their tireless pastoral support. Our family and many others are devastated at the breath-taking injustice of serving a sentence of indefinite banishment on three good and holy men who are guilty of no transgression, save perhaps that of speaking up a little too zealously in defence of life, of our families and of our parental rights. This scandal to our children is profound and will not be remedied until Father Dermot Fenlon, Father Philip Cleevely and Brother Lewis Berry are restored to our Oratory, Cardinal Newman's Oratory.

[link]

The mistake those parishioners made was thinking the Birmingham Oratory any different from McDonalds and thinking their relationship with their priest was any different from their relationship with a teenager in a paper hat.

Was it?

Or is it Father Ignatius Harrison who is mistaken?