Growing from cell movement

WE will not please Fr Basset by raking over ashes, but your correspondents (Catholic Herald October 2) disagree as to dates, and historical accuracy is involved.
Fr Eastwell says Fr Basset "began amalgamating Cells and Sodalities in about 1949." Miss Galloway says the Cell Movement was amalgamated with the Sodality Movement in about 1957. The fact is that the nation-wide Cell Movement did not take off until 1949, and was an independent entity for about seven years.
About 1957 I attended the meeting at Farm Street of Cell and Sodality chairpersons, called by Fr Basset to announce that, as the Cell Movement "had no canonical status, it had been decided to amalgamate it with the Sodality of Our Lady". We certainly understood that this initiative came from our bishops, the administration of canon law being their responsibility.
Your correspondents repudiate this (without producing evidence), but why should not the bishops intervene, given the contemporary Church's ethos? Is not the first episcopal duty to shepherd the flock?
Miss Taylor and Fr Eastwell are no doubt right in saying that organisations arising from the Cell Movement's demise still exist, and that some original Cell members belong to them.
I know of even more who left, and joined the Catholic Renewal Movement in 1968. The hidden springs still flow: perhaps one day they will spring up again into fountains of living water.
And Miss Taylor is certainly right in saying: "Fr Basset was appointed to other work by his Jesuit superiors." He was sent to the Scilly Isles.
Surrey Dora Turbin (Ms)
AS Miss Pat Taylor mentioned (October 2) CRUX derives its inspiration from Fr Basset. It was a great joy when he spoke at our Annual Conference in September 1982.
Those who formed CRUX were all former members of the Cells and included some of the founder members of the Cell Movement. The General Secretary of CRUX is Mr Fred Tippen (himself a former National Chairman of the Sodality Cell Movement) of 18, Berwick Avenue, Hayes, Middlesex. Former Cell members who would like to link up with us should write to him for details.
Like Fr Eastwell, (October 2) I do not have records before me. But the merger between Cell and Sodalities was much later than he suggests. The Cell Movement only obtained permission to exist as a separate entity in early 1950. It was not until much later (during Fr Boyle's term as Provincial) that Fr Basset was asked to become National Promoter of the Sodalities.
Peter McDonald National Chairman CRUX Manchester