Page 31 - LOTN Issue 45

FAITH AND CULTURE

from the 14th century. Colette had persuaded her parents to and similar statues were mass-produced around 1900 and were
build her a small room in their home to which she could retreat. placed in the cells of religious as an aid to devotion.
She tried out the Beguines, the Benedictines and the Clarissans The exhibits are not all centuries old - there is the remarkable
with no success, so she joined the Franciscan third order and in “Golden Air” by Ann Janssens a strange glass cube which
1402 had herself walled up in a cell on the outside wall of Notre contains a cushion of golden air. There's also a weird light show
Dame church in Corbie in France. She had two windows, one where you enter a darkened section of a room, and then are
so that she could see the Mass and receive communion, and one bombarded by flashing white light for 9 minutes.
where people could come to ask her advice and presumably pass I hope that I have been able to give you some idea of the scope
her food. She existed here in harsh conditions for four years and of things to see here. There is so much Catholic history from
then set off in 1406 to Nice where she was made an Abbess by over so many centuries. In a short article like this, I could not
the “anti-Pope” Benedict Xlll. She then set off again on a mission possibly list all the items, so please go to www.abdijvanpark.be
to reorganise the Poor Clares, the Franciscan Clarist Order, to www.parcum.be. and of course www.visitleuven.be and go there
bring them back to the founding Franciscan principles. She to see for yourself all these wonderful artefacts.
founded many new monasteries and convents and in 1442 went I know that we tend not to think about Belgium as a holiday
to Ghent and established the Bethlehem Monastery in which destination but Leuven will certainly change your mind!
she lived until her death in 1447.
Then, there's a curious row of five statues of Jesus. These

The Highland Gathering – Virtual men’s

conference for the Diocese of Aberdeen

What does it look like to be a Catholic man in Scotland in
2020? How does our faith affect our marriages, our work, our
relationships and how we behave as men?
The first ever virtual men's conference for the North of
Scotland, The Highland Gathering, sought to find answers to
some of these questions.
The conference talks were made available from the 19th
September on YouTube. Conference speakers included: Bishop
Hugh Gilbert OSB; Bishop John Keenan; Fr. Domenico Zanrè;
Fr. Damien Martell; Fr. Max Nwosu; Fr. Balaraj Chencetty; Fr.
Neil Ritchie (Chaplain to Liverpool Universities); Fr. Nicholas
Blackwell (aka "The Frank Friar"’); Sam Baker (Catholic Man
UK); David Edwards (Highland Catholic Men);Ged Farrell;
Maciej Kaminski; Klaudiusz Mozolewski; Leves Pereira and
Rory Mackinnon (from Craig Lodge).
Conference organiser Eric Hannah reflects on some of the
complex issues facing men which were raised at The Highland
Gathering.

BY ERIC HANNA

his article is about the recent men’s conference,
the Highland Gathering, which was this "One American Pastor had a term for a lot of the men in his
diocese's first online men’s conference, and church – boys who can shave."
Tpossibly the first conference of this kind we
have ever had. To answer as to why one was put on, I masculinity is when it is coupled with "toxic". Men on the
think the best thing is to explain where men are at the screen are often represented as stupid, bumbling, ultra-
moment. To women the answer would be that men are macho, power-hungry, misogynistic, invisible in the case
paid more, have better opportunities, that less at home of fatherhood, terrible or stupid husbands and partners to
is expected of them and so on. There is also undoubted long suffering women etc. Conversely, there are the action
sexism and misogyny present in our society and much heroes of Marvel, the silent nameless vigilantes like Clint
needs to be done to address the issues surrounding Eastwood but few cultural representations of manhood
this. But the picture is much more complicated and live up to the manhood called on us by God and taught to
nuanced than the headlines would have you believe. us by the Church. These skewed forms of masculinity are
As a man you feel an underlying negativity against being presented to boys and men that ultimately disrupt
masculinity. The only time you seem to see the word their ability to be the creatures God has called them to
be. Consequently, this affects what it is to be a woman.
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