St.Philips Grammar School, its part in forming my
Catholic Conscience and where did it all go wrong? by Ray Towey (1955-62)
We all take individual
responsibility for our life choices of course but when reflecting back over the
years at the principal influences throughout my life, next to my parents, to
whom I owe the richness of my Catholic faith, it is to Blessed John Henry
Newman and the Oratorians at SPGS that I am indebted to today.
As a first
generation child of immigrant Irish parents who came to Birmingham searching
for the dignity of work and who suffered under the rigors and dangers of the
Birmingham Blitz in World War II, life was in no way materially privileged. I
was brought up in the Sparkbrook area in the parish of St.Anne’s Alcester
Street in Digbeth-which interestingly was a parish that Fr.John Henry Newman as
he then was, served at the beginning of his early ministry. Along with my two
brothers and sister, I went to Our Lady of Lourdes primary school in Yardley
Wood and the great privilege of being accepted as a pupil in St.Philips Grammar
School at the age of 11 years has been one of the great joys of my life. Being
a pupil at SPGS fostered an inquiring
mind, an academic discipline, a work ethic and a nurturing and a study of the Catholic
faith. Included in my studies were social teachings of the Church. During my
time Fr.Geoffrey, Fr.John and Fr.Hamish were the Oratorians most active in the
School. My memories of them were that they were men of faith who had the the
capacity to not only teach their pupils, but also to listen to their pupils and
to respect their pupils. They encouraged us to question and to follow our faith
journeys with integrity and courage. They gave us the basics of what an
informed conscience should be. Cardinal Newman was presented to us as man of
conscience who followed his conscientious historical discerning to Rome and as
history has told - such a journey is not without personal sacrifice. Newman’s
discerning of the development of Christian doctrine showed us that faith
journeys are a living process that need to be followed with persistance and
courage. He believed that
his responsibilities went beyond teaching and imparting of knowledge. He saw
his role as both moral and pastoral as well. Working tirelessly especially for
the poor parishioners of the Birmingham Oratory, Newman also conducted an
enormous correspondence, helping people all over the world with their religious
difficulties. Newman's aim was to describe and enlighten the Christian mind. When
Newman became a Cardinal in 1879, he had to choose a motto to go on his coat of
arms. He chose the Latin words Cor ad Cor loquitur – heart speaks unto heart.
The words from St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) a French Bishop and great
spiritual writer whom Newman revered. Newman wanted English Catholics to be
better educated because he believed the Church needed to be prepared for
converts, as well as converts prepared for the Church.
In my later years at SPGS I was fortunate to
be very active in the St.Vincent De Paul Society and as I look back I can now
recognise from this distance the very beginings of my life choices which were
nurtured at SPGS. My academic interests were in Chemistry, Physics and Biology
and this led me to study medicine in Manchester qualifying as a doctor in 1967,
interestingly the very year of the Abortion Act. My Catholic training in SPGS alongside
the influence of Newman’s philosphy certainly prepared me for realising that
the Catholic conscience may lead you out of the mainstream secular world at a
personal cost in whatever profession you choose, especially in medicine. I had the privilege after more than a decade
of training to hold the position of consultant at Guy’s Hospital in London and
serve in that role for many years. However that position was not to be the final
pinnacle of my career and in the early 90s I resigned to work as a medical
missionary in Africa.
Over the last 20 years I have spent most of my
professional life working in Tanzania and Uganda: countries whose life
expectancies are around 53 years compared with 82 years in the UK. However its
difficult to experience and feel the poverty of Africa and not look at my own
society and its choices with a discriminating scrutiny. A short time in Africa
can alter your whole outlook and your priorities. For me, it was to assess the
choices that we as a country made for war when there was so much need in Africa
going unanswered that moved me to make a special commitment to the peace
movement. When there was so much unnecessary death in Africa from diseases that
we prevent or cure in UK so easily - why were we ready to spend so much of our
resources on creating more deaths in war? Could not these resources be diverted
to my patients for saving lives? Could not these conflicts be resolved non-violently?
I often look back and reflect on the wars that we have fought as a country. I
ask myself: have these wars ever solved any real issue of justice from the
South Atlantic to Iraq or Afghanistan? Similarly, it could be said that the
ultimate evil genocidal weapon of the Trident nuclear weapon system leaves us as
a community both morally, spiritually and economically bankcrupt.
My commitment to
the peace movement is often in the form on non-violent civil disobedience at
the Ministry of Defence in London during Lent. For some of us this journey of
faith often led to court followed by short prison sentences in Pentonville or
Holloway Prison. Without doubt the influences of Newman and the staff of SPGS
helped me to discern the life choices I made. The staff and chaplains of SPGS
showed me the way to find the grace to make these life choices.
This article
is a small way of saying thank you to all the Oratorian Fathers and teachers at
SPGS that helped inspire and mould my Catholic conscience. From my humble
beginnings along with the richness of family love and faith you all guided me
and led me both to Africa and to Pentonville Prison! I take full responsibility
for these choices myself but I thank you all for giving me the intellectual and
spiritual capacity for making those choices with freedom and joy. On reflection I leave you with one question:
St.Philip’s Grammar School, its part in forming my Catholic conscience……did it really
all go wrong?
Ray Towey
raymond.towey@btinternet.com There is a charity which continues to support my work in
Uganda now and other missionaries in Zimbabwe, African Mission, www.africanmission.org.uk
A small group
known as Catholic Peace Action which I joined can be seen on You Tube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQXHJShmfv4
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