This is clear proof of the fierce war on the Catholic Church and the natural law in Canada, even from those within the Church herself. As the article states, this is the first case "to be accepted" by a human rights commission in Canada "that relates to the internal governance of the Church." The Ontario Human Rights Commission's acceptance of the complaint of Jim Corcoran, a homosexual man who was told by Bishop de Angelis of the Diocese of Peterborough not to altar serve at Mass, is an abuse of the power of the state and a flagrant violation of the divine rights of the Church established by Christ. Let us pray for Bishop de Angelis, that God grants him the courage to persevere against this onslaught of Marxist oppression.
Homosexual Ex-Altar Server Demands Bishop Apologize, Publicly Chastise Parishioners in Human Rights Complaint
By Patrick B. Craine
July 13, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In what some critics of the embattled Canadian human rights commissions say could be the most intrusive human rights case in Canada thus far, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has accepted the complaint of a homosexual man who was dismissed by the Bishop of Peterborough as an altar server. While the bishop has refused to publicly comment on the matter, the complainant in the case says that the bishop asked him and his same-sex partner not to serve on the altar so as to avoid public scandal.
Jim Corcoran, the owner of one of Canada's most highly-rated spas, filed his complaint to the OHRC on June 17th against Bishop Nicola de Angelis and twelve of Corcoran's fellow parishioners at St. Michael's Parish in Cobourg, Ontario, who had jointly written a letter to Bishop De Angelis about the situation. (To read the complaint click here)
Human rights complaints have been brought against members of the Church in the past via Canada's HRCs, but this case is the first to be accepted by a Commission that relates to the internal governance of the Church, with the potential for unprecedented repercussions relating to the Church's freedom in Canada.
Corcoran, who was removed on April 20th, told LifeSiteNews.com (LSN) that he is homosexual, and that he is living with another man, but evaded questions about his roommate's sexual orientation. According to Michael Swan of the Catholic Register, however, Corcoran told him that he is living with another gay man. Without denying Swan's statement, Corcoran told LSN, "I didn't say that, Michael said that. I live in a house with my mother…, and I live with another man, who I don't have a sexual relationship with."
"I live a chaste lifestyle," said Corcoran, "so I'm not sure why the label is relevant at all."
Corcoran said the 12 parishioners who complained to the bishop had misinterpreted passages from his blog as meaning that he was in an open homosexual relationship. "They went on my blog," he said, "and in my blog I talk about my life, my work life, my family life, my thoughts, my aspirations, and apparently they printed out about 70 pages."
In Corcoran's complaint to the OHRC, however, which he supplied to LSN, he appears to be more frank about his relationship with his roommate. Corcoran specifically and repeatedly refers to his roommate as "my same sex partner." Further, responding to an allegation that he is "married" to his partner, Corcoran wrote, "I am not married to my same sex partner but I do not hide my sexual preference, or my relationship."
Corcoran told LSN that he ascribes to the Catholic teaching on marriage. "I believe that marriage is a sacrament between a man and a woman," he said. "I'm not one to trample on the rights of others, but … same-sex marriage, isn't something that I ascribe to, or have engaged in."
Gerry Lawless, one of the twelve parishioners named by Corcoran as respondents to his complaint, told LSN that the group of 12 did not mention marriage, and contests Corcoran's claim that they slandered him. "He charges us with slander," Lawless said, "but we feel that in order to slander a person, you have to mention their name. His name or his partner's has never been named in any correspondence, not by the twelve that he's after."
"There's no evidence at all to suggest that we were trying to be discriminatory or that we have some sort of distaste for people of same-sex orientation, or any of this," Lawless told Swan of the Catholic Register.
Lawless told LSN that they had been instructed to welcome homosexuals attending Mass and receiving Communion, but that open homosexuals should not be participating in the liturgy in a public position, as, say, a lector or an altar server. "We have not discriminated. We have simply asked the bishop to act on a situation which we had been informed on very good authority was in violation of church policy," he told the Catholic Register.
According to the Catholic Register, the two sides have agreed to mediation, which, if successful will keep the case from reaching a hearing. "At the moment we don't need a lawyer," Lawless said, pointing out that he was happy not to have to pay expensive legal fees for the time being.
Corcoran is seeking monetary damages of up to $25,000 from the bishop and $20,000 each from the 12 parishioners. But his primary interest is in restitution of a non-financial nature, he says. He states in his complaint that he wants the $20,000 from each of the parishioners to be allocated "towards a charity of my choosing." And the $25,000 from the diocese will be used to cover his legal expenses; but, he told LSN, he will be returning it through parish contributions.
He has also requested six other "remedies." First, he indicates that he "would like the group of 12 parishioners to be held accountable for their un-Christian actions, in front of their peers in a public forum, by the Bishop or the Bishop's superior." Second, he wants the Bishop to preach at his parish "on the consequences of practicing discrimination and the slanderous spreading of rumours, hate and innuendo."
Third, he wants to be restored as an altar server, and fourth, for the bishop to apologize for having removed him. Fifth, he wants the bishop to write an article for the diocesan newspaper "on the rights of persons with same sex attractions to practice their faith within the Catholic Church without fear of threats, recrimination or discrimination." And finally, sixth, he wants the diocese to develop policies "that support the human rights of all people within the church."
When asked whether he feels his complaint to the OHRC has placed him at odds with the Church, Corcoran told LSN, "I would hope that the bishop would not see it that way. … I'm still going to church, I'm still a very generous supporter of the Catholic Church, and he knows that, and I'm following his directive.
"He's asked me not to serve on the altar and I'm not," Corcoran said. "He's asked me to stay close to and support Fr. Hood, and I am. So I would hope that when he sits down with his legal counsel, he'll understand that this is really a struggle between me and the group of fellow parishioners, and Fr. Hood and the group of fellow parishioners."
Referring to the bishop's refusal to supply Corcoran with the twelve parishioners' letter, a key piece of evidence against them, Corcoran said, "Unfortunately, he passed on the opportunity to avoid being named as a respondent by not agreeing to cooperate at the outset."
According to Reg Ward, another of the 12, who spoke with Swan, the group's main concern in writing to Bishop De Angelis was to express concern about their pastor, Fr. Allan Hood. According to Ward, and confirmed by Corcoran in speaking with LSN, Corcoran and his partner were invited by Fr. Hood to serve on the altar at Masses. The complaint about Corcoran was one in a series of complaints to the bishop against the pastor.
"It was just one more way of Fr. Hood saying he's boss and to hell with everybody else, like what the church is saying and everybody else," said Ward.
Fr. Hood did not return calls from LSN by press time. LSN also left a message with the OHRC, but did not hear back.
LSN spoke with Bishop De Angelis, but he is not yet prepared to comment.
In a press release on Friday, the Catholic Civil Rights League came out strongly against the OHRC for accepting this case, saying the case is "not an OHRC matter."
"Without commenting on any individual personnel situation or personalities that are involved in this case," the release says, "the relationship between the Church and altar servers, in the League's opinion, has none of the attributes that would make it a subject for a complaint to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. No one serves on the altar as a right; it is at the discretion of the pastor, who in turn is at the service of his bishop. Mr. Corcoran's role was not unlike that of other liturgical servers, who are part of the overall presentation of the Mass."
"The decision about who can serve on the altar is a matter of Church governance," it continues. "While the Church is subject to human rights law when it employs people in a commercial relationship, the same cannot be said about decisions involving who is a member, or how they can best serve."
The Human Rights Tribunal, said the League, "should not place itself as an arbiter of canonical precepts."
See the Catholic Register report here
Monday, July 13, 2009
The Dictatorship of Relativism in Canada: Human Rights Commission Accepts Complaint of Homosexual Man against the Bishop of Peterborough
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Caritas in Veritate: The Church Has a Mission of Truth
From the Holy Father's New Social Encyclical Caritas in Veritate (On Integral Human Development in Charity and Truth):
"The Church does not have technical solutions to offer and does not claim 'to interfere in any way in the politics of States.' She does, however, have a mission of truth to accomplish, in every time and circumstance, for a society that is attuned to man, to his dignity, to his vocation. Without truth, it is easy to fall into an empiricist and sceptical view of life, incapable of rising to the level of praxis because of a lack of interest in grasping the values — sometimes even the meanings — with which to judge and direct it. Fidelity to man requires fidelity to the truth, which alone is the guarantee of freedom (cf. Jn 8:32) and of the possibility of integral human development. For this reason the Church searches for truth, proclaims it tirelessly and recognizes it wherever it is manifested. This mission of truth is something that the Church can never renounce. Her social doctrine is a particular dimension of this proclamation: it is a service to the truth which sets us free. Open to the truth, from whichever branch of knowledge it comes, the Church's social doctrine receives it, assembles into a unity the fragments in which it is often found, and mediates it within the constantly changing life-patterns of the society of peoples and nations."
"The Church does not have technical solutions to offer and does not claim 'to interfere in any way in the politics of States.' She does, however, have a mission of truth to accomplish, in every time and circumstance, for a society that is attuned to man, to his dignity, to his vocation. Without truth, it is easy to fall into an empiricist and sceptical view of life, incapable of rising to the level of praxis because of a lack of interest in grasping the values — sometimes even the meanings — with which to judge and direct it. Fidelity to man requires fidelity to the truth, which alone is the guarantee of freedom (cf. Jn 8:32) and of the possibility of integral human development. For this reason the Church searches for truth, proclaims it tirelessly and recognizes it wherever it is manifested. This mission of truth is something that the Church can never renounce. Her social doctrine is a particular dimension of this proclamation: it is a service to the truth which sets us free. Open to the truth, from whichever branch of knowledge it comes, the Church's social doctrine receives it, assembles into a unity the fragments in which it is often found, and mediates it within the constantly changing life-patterns of the society of peoples and nations."
Friday, July 03, 2009
Pope Benedict XVI on the Identity and "New Being" of the Priest
Wednesday General Audience, July 1, 2009
"The mission of every priest depends, therefore, also and above all on the awareness of the sacramental reality of his 'new being.' The priest's renewed enthusiasm for his mission will always depend on the certainty of his personal identity, which is not artificially constructed, but rather given and received freely and divinely. What I have written in the encyclical 'Deus Caritas Est' is also true for priests: 'Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction' (No. 1)."
"The mission of every priest depends, therefore, also and above all on the awareness of the sacramental reality of his 'new being.' The priest's renewed enthusiasm for his mission will always depend on the certainty of his personal identity, which is not artificially constructed, but rather given and received freely and divinely. What I have written in the encyclical 'Deus Caritas Est' is also true for priests: 'Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction' (No. 1)."
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
July 1, 2009 - Happy Dominion Day!
The Chair of Peter on Canada
"Venerable Brethren, Health and Apostolic Benediction. We can scarcely address you, which we most willingly do from our heart, without remembering the mutual goodwill and that continuous interchange of good offices which have ever existed between the Apostolic See and the Canadian people. The love of the Catholic Church stood by the cradle of your State, and since the time when she received you into her maternal arms has never ceased to hold you in a close embrace, to foster you, and to load you with good things. The great works which that man of immortal memory, François de Montmorency Laval, wrought so successfully and so holily for the good of your country, of which your ancestors were witnesses, he accomplished through the support of the authority and favour of the Roman Pontiffs. And it was from no other source that the works of the Bishops who succeeded him, and who were men of such signal merits, took their origin and drew their hopes of success. It was under the inspiration and on the initiative of the Apostolic See that noble bands of missionaries journeyed to your country, carrying along with the light of Christian wisdom a more elevated culture and the first seeds of civilization. And it was by these seeds, which were gradually ripened by the arduous labour of these men, that the Canadian people won a place on a level with the most civilized and most glorious nations and thus became, though late in the field, their rival."
--Pope Leo XIII, Encyclical Letter Affari Vos on the Manitoba School Question
"Venerable Brethren, Health and Apostolic Benediction. We can scarcely address you, which we most willingly do from our heart, without remembering the mutual goodwill and that continuous interchange of good offices which have ever existed between the Apostolic See and the Canadian people. The love of the Catholic Church stood by the cradle of your State, and since the time when she received you into her maternal arms has never ceased to hold you in a close embrace, to foster you, and to load you with good things. The great works which that man of immortal memory, François de Montmorency Laval, wrought so successfully and so holily for the good of your country, of which your ancestors were witnesses, he accomplished through the support of the authority and favour of the Roman Pontiffs. And it was from no other source that the works of the Bishops who succeeded him, and who were men of such signal merits, took their origin and drew their hopes of success. It was under the inspiration and on the initiative of the Apostolic See that noble bands of missionaries journeyed to your country, carrying along with the light of Christian wisdom a more elevated culture and the first seeds of civilization. And it was by these seeds, which were gradually ripened by the arduous labour of these men, that the Canadian people won a place on a level with the most civilized and most glorious nations and thus became, though late in the field, their rival."
--Pope Leo XIII, Encyclical Letter Affari Vos on the Manitoba School Question
Monday, June 29, 2009
Pope: It is a Childish Faith to Oppose the Church Teaching on Life and Family
By John-Henry Westen
ROME, June 29, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Closing the Year of St. Paul yesterday evening, Pope Benedict XVI reflected on the writings of the famed convert to Christianity. With reference to Paul's letter to the Ephesians (4:14), the Pope explained what Paul meant by his statement that Christians should not remain "children at the mercy of the waves, transported here and there by every wind of doctrine."
"Paul wants the Christian faith have a 'responsible', an 'adult faith," said the Holy Father. "The word 'adult faith' has in recent decades become a popular slogan. It is often used to refer to the attitude of those who no longer adhere to the Church and her pastors, but choose for themselves what they want to believe and not believe - a kind of do-it-yourself faith."
Benedict XVI continued: "Speaking against the Magisterium of the Church is presented as courageous. In reality, however, it does not take courage for this, since you can always be sure of audience applause."
"Rather it takes courage to adhere to the faith of the Church, even if it contradicts the 'scheme' of the contemporary world," said the Pope. "It is this non-conformism of the faith that Paul calls an 'adult faith.'"
The Holy Father gave two examples of an 'adult faith'. First, "to commit to the inviolability of human life from the very beginning, thus radically opposing the principle of violence, in defense of the most defenseless humans." And second, "to recognize marriage between a man and a woman for life as a law of the Creator, restored again by Christ."
For Paul, said Benedict XVI, "following the prevailing winds and currents of the day is childish."
See the full homily in Italian here:
http://212.77.1.245/news_services/bulletin/news/24071.php?index=24071&po_date=28.06.2009&lang=en
ROME, June 29, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Closing the Year of St. Paul yesterday evening, Pope Benedict XVI reflected on the writings of the famed convert to Christianity. With reference to Paul's letter to the Ephesians (4:14), the Pope explained what Paul meant by his statement that Christians should not remain "children at the mercy of the waves, transported here and there by every wind of doctrine."
"Paul wants the Christian faith have a 'responsible', an 'adult faith," said the Holy Father. "The word 'adult faith' has in recent decades become a popular slogan. It is often used to refer to the attitude of those who no longer adhere to the Church and her pastors, but choose for themselves what they want to believe and not believe - a kind of do-it-yourself faith."
Benedict XVI continued: "Speaking against the Magisterium of the Church is presented as courageous. In reality, however, it does not take courage for this, since you can always be sure of audience applause."
"Rather it takes courage to adhere to the faith of the Church, even if it contradicts the 'scheme' of the contemporary world," said the Pope. "It is this non-conformism of the faith that Paul calls an 'adult faith.'"
The Holy Father gave two examples of an 'adult faith'. First, "to commit to the inviolability of human life from the very beginning, thus radically opposing the principle of violence, in defense of the most defenseless humans." And second, "to recognize marriage between a man and a woman for life as a law of the Creator, restored again by Christ."
For Paul, said Benedict XVI, "following the prevailing winds and currents of the day is childish."
See the full homily in Italian here:
http://212.77.1.245/news_services/bulletin/news/24071.php?index=24071&po_date=28.06.2009&lang=en
Pope Benedict XVI on the Close of the Year of St. Paul and the Beginning of the Year for Priests
Angelus Address, June 28, 2009
"With the celebration of First Vespers for the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, over which I will preside this evening at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, the Pauline Year -- proclaimed for the bimillennium of the Apostle of the Gentiles' birth -- comes to a close. It has truly been a time of grace in which, through many pilgrimages, catecheses, numerous publications and other initiatives, the figure of St. Paul was put forward again in the whole Church, and his vibrant message has revived everywhere, in Christian communities, a passion for Christ and the Gospel. For this we give thanks to God for the Pauline Year and for all the spiritual gifts that it has brought to us.
"Divine Providence has arranged that a few days ago another special year -- the Year for Priests -- was inaugurated on June 19, the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, marking the 150th anniversary of the death -- 'dies natalis' [heavenly day of birth] -- of John Mary Vianney, the holy Curé d'Ars. It is a further spiritual and pastoral impulse that -- I am certain -- will not fail to bring many benefits to the Christian people, and especially to the clergy."
"With the celebration of First Vespers for the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, over which I will preside this evening at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, the Pauline Year -- proclaimed for the bimillennium of the Apostle of the Gentiles' birth -- comes to a close. It has truly been a time of grace in which, through many pilgrimages, catecheses, numerous publications and other initiatives, the figure of St. Paul was put forward again in the whole Church, and his vibrant message has revived everywhere, in Christian communities, a passion for Christ and the Gospel. For this we give thanks to God for the Pauline Year and for all the spiritual gifts that it has brought to us.
"Divine Providence has arranged that a few days ago another special year -- the Year for Priests -- was inaugurated on June 19, the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, marking the 150th anniversary of the death -- 'dies natalis' [heavenly day of birth] -- of John Mary Vianney, the holy Curé d'Ars. It is a further spiritual and pastoral impulse that -- I am certain -- will not fail to bring many benefits to the Christian people, and especially to the clergy."
Sunday, June 28, 2009
BOSTON CARDINAL O'MALLEY WITHDRAWS CARITAS CHRISTI FROM POTENTIAL ABORTION SCANDAL
MEDIA RELEASE
http://all.org/article.php?id=12006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
26 June 2009
CONTACT: Katie Walker
540.659.4942 kwalker@all.org
BOSTON CARDINAL O'MALLEY WITHDRAWS CARITAS CHRISTI FROM POTENTIAL ABORTION SCANDAL
Washington, DC (26 June 2009) – The following is a statement from American Life League president Judie Brown regarding Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley’s announcement that archdiocese-affiliated Caritas Christi Healthcare has withdrawn ownership of CeltiCare Health Plan. The announcement comes only two days after A.L.L. announced it would launch an investigation into the scandal.
“Praise God! After months of tireless effort from American Life League and pro-life heroes in Boston and around the country to expose a potential scandal only days away from becoming a tragic betrayal of Catholicism’s unwavering commitment to the dignity of the human person, Cardinal Sean O’Malley has heard our voices and will end the joint venture with abortion-providing Centene Corp!
We profoundly thank Cardinal O’Malley for his courage, leadership and pastoral concern for the health and well-being of those youngest members of his archdiocese. He has set a beautiful example of dedication and charity for those poorest of the poor – the preborn.
Cardinal O’Malley has answered our call and beat the clock as the minutes ticked away until the July 1 launch of the new CeltiCare Health Plan and the Catholic Church’s participation in the intrinsic evil of abortion.
Together with the thousands of American Life League supporters whose voices cried out in horror to the Cardinal at the thought of the Archdiocese of Boston supporting and promoting abortion, we congratulate Cardinal O’Malley on his commitment to the Faith – even during this time of severe financial crisis.
It has been American Life League’s privilege and honor to work alongside Massachusetts heroes Carol McKinley, C.J. Doyle of Catholic Action League and many other Boston pro-lifers in our effort to bring this potential scandal to light. Their constant vigilance and unwavering dedication to truth were a clear voice of conscience in Boston and the archdiocese is incredibly blessed to have such soldiers for Christ in their pews.
What happened in Boston will ring out far beyond the potential scandal that could have involved Caritas Christi and thereby the Archdiocese. Cardinal O'Malley's reaffirmation of the Faith, when it would have been all too easy to compromise, is a sign of the vitality of United States Catholics’ commitment to human life and personhood.
American Life League and our supporters are humbled to stand alongside Cardinal O’Malley as a sign of contradiction to the culture of death."
American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro-life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
American Life League: ALL Promises Caritas Christi Investigation After July 1 (24 June 2009)
http://all.org/article.php?id=12001
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts:
http://www.catholicactionleague.org/
Boston Globe: Caritas Ends Venture Over Abortion Issue (26 June 2009)
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles_of_faith/2009/06/caritas_ends_ve.html
http://all.org/article.php?id=12006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
26 June 2009
CONTACT: Katie Walker
540.659.4942 kwalker@all.org
BOSTON CARDINAL O'MALLEY WITHDRAWS CARITAS CHRISTI FROM POTENTIAL ABORTION SCANDAL
Washington, DC (26 June 2009) – The following is a statement from American Life League president Judie Brown regarding Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley’s announcement that archdiocese-affiliated Caritas Christi Healthcare has withdrawn ownership of CeltiCare Health Plan. The announcement comes only two days after A.L.L. announced it would launch an investigation into the scandal.
“Praise God! After months of tireless effort from American Life League and pro-life heroes in Boston and around the country to expose a potential scandal only days away from becoming a tragic betrayal of Catholicism’s unwavering commitment to the dignity of the human person, Cardinal Sean O’Malley has heard our voices and will end the joint venture with abortion-providing Centene Corp!
We profoundly thank Cardinal O’Malley for his courage, leadership and pastoral concern for the health and well-being of those youngest members of his archdiocese. He has set a beautiful example of dedication and charity for those poorest of the poor – the preborn.
Cardinal O’Malley has answered our call and beat the clock as the minutes ticked away until the July 1 launch of the new CeltiCare Health Plan and the Catholic Church’s participation in the intrinsic evil of abortion.
Together with the thousands of American Life League supporters whose voices cried out in horror to the Cardinal at the thought of the Archdiocese of Boston supporting and promoting abortion, we congratulate Cardinal O’Malley on his commitment to the Faith – even during this time of severe financial crisis.
It has been American Life League’s privilege and honor to work alongside Massachusetts heroes Carol McKinley, C.J. Doyle of Catholic Action League and many other Boston pro-lifers in our effort to bring this potential scandal to light. Their constant vigilance and unwavering dedication to truth were a clear voice of conscience in Boston and the archdiocese is incredibly blessed to have such soldiers for Christ in their pews.
What happened in Boston will ring out far beyond the potential scandal that could have involved Caritas Christi and thereby the Archdiocese. Cardinal O'Malley's reaffirmation of the Faith, when it would have been all too easy to compromise, is a sign of the vitality of United States Catholics’ commitment to human life and personhood.
American Life League and our supporters are humbled to stand alongside Cardinal O’Malley as a sign of contradiction to the culture of death."
American Life League was cofounded in 1979 by Judie Brown. It is the largest grassroots Catholic pro-life organization in the United States and is committed to the protection of all innocent human beings from the moment of creation to natural death. For more information or press inquiries, please contact Katie Walker at 540.659.4942.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
American Life League: ALL Promises Caritas Christi Investigation After July 1 (24 June 2009)
http://all.org/article.php?id=12001
Catholic Action League of Massachusetts:
http://www.catholicactionleague.org/
Boston Globe: Caritas Ends Venture Over Abortion Issue (26 June 2009)
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles_of_faith/2009/06/caritas_ends_ve.html
Monday, June 22, 2009
Prayer of St. Thomas More before Dying
Today is the optional memorial of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher in the calendar of the ordinary form of the Latin rite.
A DEVOUT PRAYER
MADE BY SIR THOMAS MORE, KNIGHT,
AFTER HE WAS CONDEMNED TO DIE AND
BEFORE HE WAS PUT TO DEATH, WHO
WAS CONDEMNED THE THURSDAY THE
FIRST DAY OF JULY IN THE YEAR OF OUR
LORD 1535 AND IN THE 27TH YEAR OF
THE REIGN OF KING HENRY VIII, AND
WAS BEHEADED AT THE TOWER HILL
AT LONDON, THE TUESDAY FOLLOWING
Pater Noster. Ave Maria. Credo.
O HOLY TRINITY, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, three equal and coeternal Persons, and one Almighty God, have mercy on me, vile, abject, abominable, sinful wretch: meekly knowledging before thine High Majesty my long-continued sinful life, even from my very childhood hitherto.
In my childhood, in this point and that point, etc. After my childhood in this point and that point, and so forth by every age, etc.
Now, good gracious Lord, as thou givest me thy grace to knowledge them, so give me thy grace, not in only word but in heart also with very sorrowful contrition to repent them and utterly to forsake them. And forgive me those sins also, in which by mine own default, through evil affections and evil custom, my reason is with sensuality so blinded that I cannot discern them for sin. And illumine, good Lord, mine heart, and give me thy grace to know them, and forgive me my sins negligently forgotten, and bring them to my mind with grace to be purely confessed of them.
Source: St. Thomas More Studies
A DEVOUT PRAYER
MADE BY SIR THOMAS MORE, KNIGHT,
AFTER HE WAS CONDEMNED TO DIE AND
BEFORE HE WAS PUT TO DEATH, WHO
WAS CONDEMNED THE THURSDAY THE
FIRST DAY OF JULY IN THE YEAR OF OUR
LORD 1535 AND IN THE 27TH YEAR OF
THE REIGN OF KING HENRY VIII, AND
WAS BEHEADED AT THE TOWER HILL
AT LONDON, THE TUESDAY FOLLOWING
Pater Noster. Ave Maria. Credo.
O HOLY TRINITY, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, three equal and coeternal Persons, and one Almighty God, have mercy on me, vile, abject, abominable, sinful wretch: meekly knowledging before thine High Majesty my long-continued sinful life, even from my very childhood hitherto.
In my childhood, in this point and that point, etc. After my childhood in this point and that point, and so forth by every age, etc.
Now, good gracious Lord, as thou givest me thy grace to knowledge them, so give me thy grace, not in only word but in heart also with very sorrowful contrition to repent them and utterly to forsake them. And forgive me those sins also, in which by mine own default, through evil affections and evil custom, my reason is with sensuality so blinded that I cannot discern them for sin. And illumine, good Lord, mine heart, and give me thy grace to know them, and forgive me my sins negligently forgotten, and bring them to my mind with grace to be purely confessed of them.
Source: St. Thomas More Studies
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