Lord Brennan on 'Catholics in public life'
Lord Daniel Brennan QC gave the Annual Thomas More Lecture at Allen Hall Seminary, on Wednesday 18 March.
The lecture, entitled "Catholics in Public Life: Reflections In The Light Of Pope Benedict XVI's Thinking On Faith And Culture" examined Pope Benedict XVI's writings within the context of contemporary Britain.
In the lecture, Lord Brennan said: "We now experience aggressive secularism. The religious zealot of the past is now mirrored by the secular bigot. Yet Catholics must bear witness."
"We Christians in public life from parish to parliament can be inspired by the words of Benedict XVI: "Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, person which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction". We should all help people to be someone and not just something."
This is the third year that the Thomas More lecture has taken place at Allen Hall, the seminary for the Diocese of Westminster. Mgr Mark O'Toole, Rector of Allen Hall Seminary, said: "I am delighted that Lord Brennan has given this year's St Thomas More Lecture reflecting on the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI and the relationship between faith and culture. I am sure that his comments will help all of us reclaim a national concern for the Common Good. As a faithful Catholic layman he has reminded us that we cannot allow civil discourse in public Life to disappear. I look forward to the next Lecture in the series, which will take place in the autumn and which will be given by HE Francis Campbell, UK Ambassador to the Holy See."
Source: Archbishops' House