Catholic Herald Reporter
SALES of the CATHOLIC HERALD and the UNIVERSE have been stopped in the parish of St. Monica, Flixton, Lanes., because of their treatment of questions before the Vatican Council, including the birth control issue.
Fr. James McVey, the parish priest, "Categorically denied" that he had banned the papers from the pulpit. The decision, he said, was taken by a committee which organised the sale of Catholic papers at the church, after objections from parishioners.
"There is far too much speculation about what the Vatican Council will or will not do", he said. "A lot of the reports are without foundation, but ordinary Catholics, and even many educated ones, are not taught to sift the evidence and distinguish what is and what is not true".
On the birth control issue, Fr. McVey said he did not want his parishioners disturbed. "I am prepared to accept whatever the Pope says. But we need a period of sobering down and of waiting and these things should not be discussed ad nauseant. Let us wait in a spirit of humble submission and pray that the Holy Spirit will give us guidance".
About a dozen CATHOLIC HERALD'S are sold at the church door, every week. Fr. McVey said he would reconsider the decision if discussion of the various important issues facing the church were "not pushed".
(See editorial comment—page 4).