Dear Friends,
The month of April was rather eventful, as far as the Catholic Church is concerned! Indeed, it is still
difficult to take in all that has happened in recent weeks, the loss of Pope John Paul II and the election
of our new Holy Father Benedict XVI.
The funeral of Pope John Paul was a very moving affair. A friend of our community, Deacon Paul Moss,
deaconed the Mass and sang, very well, the gospel. No doubt this memory will live with him for all his
life. I myself first heard the announcement that white smoke was rising from the internet BBC news. I
rushed to our Calefactory - the Common Room - and summoned the community to the televsion set
newly-acquired for the funeral of Pope John Paul.
The election of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger was unexpected. Readers of Laudetur know already that he
graciously agreed to review one of our Abbey Press publications, and did so very favourably. That
particular book’s sales have rocketed in recent weeks.
The lesson of the whole month was that the wisdom of this world, as expressed through the secular media,
cannot prevail against the wisdom of Divine Providence. It so often seems, as each Catholic dissenter takes
their turn at the microphone, that God never quite does the right thing, but that a new Pope will put
everything right and introduce a broad liberal agenda into the Church, thereby filling pews overnight and
mending all our ills. But this is not so. One national newspaper expressed very well the mood of the
moment of Benedict’s election. ‘Catholic elected Pope - world in shock!’ it said. An interview given by the
Bishop of Lyons was similar in theme. The interviewer expressed her deep shock that the cardinals should
elect a man who was both conservative and highly intelligent. The bishop asked the young lady interviewer
if she thought it better to have a fool who changed everything in a day.
And so we offer our prayers for Pope Benedict in these days which are both difficult and exciting for God’s
Holy Church. And as we pray we may be confident that God’s holy Church continues to enjoy the protection so
long promised and so long evidenced. Pope Benedict’s utter courtesy and gentle humour will serve him well
in his ministry as servus servorum Dei, servant of the servants of God.
In the shadow of such momentous world events, life in the monastery and farm at Farnborough pales into
insignificance. We endeavour, nonetheless, in this edition, to give you an update.
With all our good wishes and blessings
Sincerely in the Lord,
rchived 
ews
