Lord Brennan gives Thomas More lecture

Allen Hall was delighted to welcome Lord Daniel Brennan QC on the 18th March to give one of this year's Thomas More lectures, on the subject of faith in the modern world.

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 Rector, Mgr Mark O’Toole, 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.”

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The seminary is situated on the site of what was once St Thomas's Great House, and his witness to the faith is an inspiring aspect of our tradition. The Thomas More lectures were established in 2007 to open the house to guests and to invite eminent speakers to share their wisdom, in honour of St Thomas More.

The next lecture in the series will be given by HE Francis Campbell, UK Ambassador to the Holy See, sometime in the Autumn.

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