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| Gay mass services in Soho abolished by archbishop of Westminster | Gay mass services in Soho abolished by archbishop of Westminster |
| (25 days later) | |
| The Archbishop of Westminster, head of Roman Catholics in England and Wales, has ordered that special fortnightly "Soho masses" for gay and lesbian churchgoers in central London are not appropriate and are to be axed. | The Archbishop of Westminster, head of Roman Catholics in England and Wales, has ordered that special fortnightly "Soho masses" for gay and lesbian churchgoers in central London are not appropriate and are to be axed. |
| The services, intended to be particularly welcoming to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered Catholics, had been held at Our Lady of the Assumption church in the West End for six years with the blessing of senior clergy but had attracted criticism from traditionalists. | The services, intended to be particularly welcoming to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered Catholics, had been held at Our Lady of the Assumption church in the West End for six years with the blessing of senior clergy but had attracted criticism from traditionalists. |
| The cancellation by Archbishop Vincent Nichols will be seen as a victory for those who lobbied for an end to what they see as an affront to church teachings. | The cancellation by Archbishop Vincent Nichols will be seen as a victory for those who lobbied for an end to what they see as an affront to church teachings. |
| The move comes as the Catholic church fights plans for same-sex marriage. Nichols has been one of the loudest voices opposing government plans to allow same-sex marriage, criticising them as "a shambles" and "Orwellian" in a BBC interview broadcast on Christmas Day. | The move comes as the Catholic church fights plans for same-sex marriage. Nichols has been one of the loudest voices opposing government plans to allow same-sex marriage, criticising them as "a shambles" and "Orwellian" in a BBC interview broadcast on Christmas Day. |
| The special masses have been contentious since they were set up. The archbishop is said to believe that the pastoral care of the lesbian and gay church community should now be uncoupled from the sacrament of Mass, and that the community should not be singled out to have "special" masses. | The special masses have been contentious since they were set up. The archbishop is said to believe that the pastoral care of the lesbian and gay church community should now be uncoupled from the sacrament of Mass, and that the community should not be singled out to have "special" masses. |
| Pastoral care will continue to be offered, though not a mass, on Sunday evenings at Farm Street Church of the Immaculate Conception in Mayfair, central London, when the new arrangements come into force during Lent, from mid-February, in the run-up to Easter, Nichols said in a statement on Wednesday. | Pastoral care will continue to be offered, though not a mass, on Sunday evenings at Farm Street Church of the Immaculate Conception in Mayfair, central London, when the new arrangements come into force during Lent, from mid-February, in the run-up to Easter, Nichols said in a statement on Wednesday. |
| Meanwhile, he is handing over the church where the services were held to the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, the body set up by Rome to cater for those who have defected from the Church of England to the Catholic church. | Meanwhile, he is handing over the church where the services were held to the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, the body set up by Rome to cater for those who have defected from the Church of England to the Catholic church. |
| The Soho masses are understood to be the only ones of their kind in England and Wales. They attracted protests despite assurances they would not become a platform for challenging the Catholic church's teaching on homosexuality, which calls on gay people to lead celibate lives. | The Soho masses are understood to be the only ones of their kind in England and Wales. They attracted protests despite assurances they would not become a platform for challenging the Catholic church's teaching on homosexuality, which calls on gay people to lead celibate lives. |
| Nichols said in a statement: "The moral teaching of the church is that 'proper use of our sexual faculty is within a marriage, between a man and a woman, open to the procreation and nurturing of new human life'. | Nichols said in a statement: "The moral teaching of the church is that 'proper use of our sexual faculty is within a marriage, between a man and a woman, open to the procreation and nurturing of new human life'. |
| "As I stated in March 2012, this means 'that many types of sexual activity, including same-sex sexual activity, are not consistent with the teaching of the church'". | "As I stated in March 2012, this means 'that many types of sexual activity, including same-sex sexual activity, are not consistent with the teaching of the church'". |
| The statement continued: "For many years now the diocese of Westminster has sought to extend the pastoral care of the church to those who experience same-sex attraction. This care as been motivated by an awareness of the difficulties and isolation they can experience and by the imperative of Christ's love for all. | The statement continued: "For many years now the diocese of Westminster has sought to extend the pastoral care of the church to those who experience same-sex attraction. This care as been motivated by an awareness of the difficulties and isolation they can experience and by the imperative of Christ's love for all. |
| "In recent years, this pastoral care has focused on the celebration of mass at Our Lady of the Assumption church in Warwick Street. Over these years, the situation of people with same-sex attraction has changed both socially and in civil law. However, the principles of the pastoral care to be offered by the church and the church's teaching on matters of sexual morality have not." | "In recent years, this pastoral care has focused on the celebration of mass at Our Lady of the Assumption church in Warwick Street. Over these years, the situation of people with same-sex attraction has changed both socially and in civil law. However, the principles of the pastoral care to be offered by the church and the church's teaching on matters of sexual morality have not." |
| He said after six years of the masses, it was "time for a new phase". | He said after six years of the masses, it was "time for a new phase". |
| Nichols said the original aim of this pastoral provision was to enable people with same-sex attraction to enter more fully into the life of the church, within the existing parish structures. | Nichols said the original aim of this pastoral provision was to enable people with same-sex attraction to enter more fully into the life of the church, within the existing parish structures. |
| But, he said, it was important to recognise a distinction must be made between the pastoral care of a particular group and the regular celebration of the mass as the "highest prayer of the whole church". | But, he said, it was important to recognise a distinction must be made between the pastoral care of a particular group and the regular celebration of the mass as the "highest prayer of the whole church". |
| "I am, therefore, asking the group, which has, in recent years, helped to organise the celebration of mass on two Sundays of each month at Warwick Street now to focus their effort on the provision of pastoral care," the archbishop said, adding it would not include "the organisation of a regular mass". | "I am, therefore, asking the group, which has, in recent years, helped to organise the celebration of mass on two Sundays of each month at Warwick Street now to focus their effort on the provision of pastoral care," the archbishop said, adding it would not include "the organisation of a regular mass". |
| Critics of the special services included the former Catholic Herald editor Dr William Oddie, who accused church leaders of supporting a "homosexual lifestyle". He said it was clear "beyond peradventure that those who attend the masses are nearly all what the archdiocese calls 'non-celibate gay people' who intend to continue to defy Catholic teaching". | Critics of the special services included the former Catholic Herald editor Dr William Oddie, who accused church leaders of supporting a "homosexual lifestyle". He said it was clear "beyond peradventure that those who attend the masses are nearly all what the archdiocese calls 'non-celibate gay people' who intend to continue to defy Catholic teaching". |
| Oddie wrote in the Catholic Herald in November that the masses were "the most potentially inflammatory source of division between Rome and Westminster". | Oddie wrote in the Catholic Herald in November that the masses were "the most potentially inflammatory source of division between Rome and Westminster". |
| Meanwhile, writing in his blog, the Daily Telegraph's religious affairs commentator, Damian Thompson, described the services as "an embarrassment; a relic of old-style gay rights campaigning that scandalised large numbers of Catholics". | Meanwhile, writing in his blog, the Daily Telegraph's religious affairs commentator, Damian Thompson, described the services as "an embarrassment; a relic of old-style gay rights campaigning that scandalised large numbers of Catholics". |
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