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Birmingham: Papal honour for woman academic helping train priests for 21st century


Professor Champ with Archbishop Longley

Professor Champ with Archbishop Longley

Professor Judith Champ, Church History Lecturer and Academic Tutor at Oscott College (the seminary of the Archdiocese of Birmingham serving the Catholic Church in England, Wales and Scotland) has become a Dame of the Order of St Sylvester. The award exists to recognise lay Catholic men and women whose professional work is of great service to the Church, to the wider community and to the country.

The Investiture of Judith Champ as a Dame of Sylvester took place during a Mass celebrated by the Archbishop of Birmingham, the Most Reverend Bernard Longley.

In his homily, the Archbishop said that Judith had "dedicated her life as a scholar and academic to the pursuit of truth and understanding, ready to subject her work to the scrutiny and criticism of her peers, ready to deepen her understanding and widen the scope of her knowledge."

This academic approach, he continued was "what she has sought to share with successive generations of seminarians that she has taught at Oscott and in other seminaries."

The Archbishop also thanked Judith for her "considerable contribution to ecumenical co-operation and dialogue" in the Dioceses of Portsmouth and Birmingham and for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.

Becoming a Papal Dame is an honour "given for a purpose", the Archbishop emphasised. "It is not only a recognition of commitment to Christ and to his Church's mission - it should also be an encouragement to Judith to find new ways of deepening the understanding of those she teaches and of extending the scope of their knowledge."

On the Oscott College Facebook page, staff and students (past and present) shared their congratulations: "Our thanks to Judith for her tireless service in forming priests for the 21st century!"

Deacons also gave a warm thanks to Judith for her support in their formation: "Congratulations Dame Judith and a huge thanks for all your support and encouragement during my formation for the Permanent Diaconate. May God Bless you today and always."

The full homily text follows:
Professor Judith Champ 23 FEBRUARY 2017

All that he does shall prosper.

Those beautiful and encouraging words from Psalm 1 describe the person who follows not the counsel of the wicked...but whose delight is the law of the Lord. With the very positive tone of the picture they assemble - like a tree that is planted beside the flowing water - these words contrast with the warning tone which we have heard elsewhere in today's scripture readings. They set before us the person who is already a long way along the path of wisdom and in whose life some of wisdom's fruits can already be seen: like a tree...that yield its fruit in due season.

The book of Ecclesiasticus - the Wisdom of ben Sirach written less than two hundred years before the birth of our Lord - shows us where to find the pathways of wisdom. It sets before us how to avoid the cul-de-sacs that look tempting enough at the outset but eventually frustrate us with their dead-ends. We are given eight cautions: do not give your heart to money...do not be led by your appetites...do not be so sure of forgiveness and so on. They offer us a steer to avoid the obstacles of folly and make the way clear towards the wisdom of God.

St Mark's Gospel echoes these cautions in the teaching of our Lord. If your hand or foot or eye should cause you to sin then your capacity to do good is limited and you are better off without them. And the greatest folly lies in becoming an obstacle to bring down one of these little ones who have faith. In the clearest of terms the Lord is cautioning us against setting a bad example or even undermining the confidence and faith of other people.

These observations carry a rather solemn note of admonition. They may at first sight seem inappropriate for a celebration such as today's but I think they illustrate very well the search for wisdom that lies at the heart of every academic pursuit. They point us along the pathways of wisdom - and these are also the pathways of formation which every seminarian is encouraged to discover and to follow here at Oscott. The life of prayer and discernment, pastoral work and study that becomes your experience here is also pathway towards Jesus, the source of all wisdom.

Few members of the Seminary community know more about this than Professor Judith Champ from the experience of a lifetime. She has dedicated her life as a scholar and academic to the pursuit of truth and understanding, ready to subject her work to the scrutiny and criticism of her peers, ready to deepen her understanding and widen the scope of her knowledge. Judith has modelled in her own academic approach what she has sought to share with successive generations of seminarians that she has taught here at Oscott and in other seminaries (which temporarily managed to entice her away from her Midlands home).

It is very fitting that today's investiture falls only a day after the Feast of St Peter's Chair. I have benefitted from hearing Judith deliver a lecture in Rome on the history and significance of the pallium and I am wearing the pallium today as I invest Judith within the Papal Order of St Sylvester. Today we celebrate the Memoria of St Polycarp of Smyrna, recognised and honoured as one of the Apostolic Fathers by Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans and Protestants alike. I recall with gratitude Judith's considerable contribution to ecumenical co-operation and dialogue within in the Diocese of Portsmouth, for the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales and here in the Archdiocese of Birmingham.

St Polycarp travelled to Rome before 155 A.D. to consult the Pope about the date of Easter. He carried with him his own first-hand experience of those who had seen and heard the Lord and he handed on his faith by his writing and preaching and by the witness of his martyrdom in Rome. Today, we also give thanks for the ways in which the Holy Spirit has enabled Judith to share and witness to her faith in Jesus Christ.

Pope Francis, as the Successor of St Peter, has bestowed the honour of becoming a Papal Dame upon Professor Judith Champ. It is an honour but it is also given for a purpose. It is not only a recognition of commitment to Christ and to his Church's mission - it should also be an encouragement to Judith to find new ways of deepening the understanding of those she teaches and of extending the scope of their knowledge.

St Polycarp's name means fruitful. It too recalls the image of Psalm 1: like a tree that is planted beside the flowing waters, that yields its fruit in due season and whose leaves shall never fade. Judith, may you bear much fruit through your research and your teaching - may all that you do prosper - and, without resting on your laurels, may your leaves never fade. Judith, I now invite you to come forward, together with your supporters from the Papal Order of St Sylvester, for your investiture.


Professor Judith Champ's most recent book is on 'The Secular Priesthood in England and Wales: History, Mission and Identity.'
Previous publications have included 'A Seminary Goes to War: St Mary's College, Oscott and the First World War.'

International Women's Day is celebrated on 8th March 2017.

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