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Cardinals lead delegation to palace for Queen's Jubilee


Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, and Archbishop Peter Smith, Archbishop of Cardiff, led a delegation of twelve Catholics to Buckingham Palace today to deliver a loyal address to Her Majesty the Queen, on the occasion of her golden jubilee. The text of the loyal address follows. Your Majesty, it is an honour and a pleasure on behalf of the Catholic community of England and Wales which I serve to express the great loyalty and gratitude we feel for your unstinting and selfless service to our nation as you celebrate the fiftieth year of your reign. Along with Catholics across the world, and especially in the Commonwealth, we join our prayers of thanksgiving to those of all your Christian and non-Christian subjects for the many blessings of your reign. In the fifty years of Your Majesty's reign our country, like the Church, has experienced unparalleled and sometimes turbulent change. For our Church the Second Vatican Council proved a pivotal point in the Church's development, not least in ushering in a period of greater openness to other faiths, and a spirit of ecumenical dialogue in which we have been pleased to play a part. Catholics are conscious of the role Your Majesty has played in a half century of unprecedented social upheaval and technological change to maintain constitutional and democratic stability in Britain and elsewhere in the Commonwealth. We commend particularly your unwavering and steadfast commitment to our shared Christian faith, to the unity of the Church and to the values of truth, justice and tolerance. We believe these values must underpin and inform our dealings with each other in business, in politics, in society and most fundamentally, in our personal relationships and in our families. The Catholic community will continue to work as a leaven in society, and we will do all we can to represent the truths of the Gospel as a moral basis for living. We will continue to challenge society to reflect more deeply about the sanctity of life and the fundamental importance of basic human rights. In our parishes, our schools and our communities we will strive to reach out to all and especially the poor, the isolated and the disadvantaged. We take this opportunity to echo the prayer of our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II who greeted you during your visit to Rome in the Jubilee Year 2000. This is the prayer of the Catholic community in England and Wales. Please accept it as a sign of the great fidelity and esteem in which we hold you: Your Majesty, for many years now and through times of great change you have reigned with a dignity and sense of duty which have edified millions of people around the world. May the Almighty grant Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh and all the members of the Royal Family his unfailing light and strength amid the challenges and difficulties of your calling. May he bless the citizens of the United Kingdom with happiness and peace; the Commonwealth with the benefits of a heightened sense of solidarity and co-operation; and the Christian people of your realm with a fresh outpouring of the grace of Jesus Christ, "the same yesterday, today and for ever" (cf Heb 13:8)." Source: CMS

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