News Briefing: from Britain and Ireland

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Cardinal Vincent Nichols (above left) and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, (right) answered questions from the public about ecumenism and evangelism during a live video chat on Facebook, the social network. They discussed a recent prayer vigil for Pentecost, run by the Church of England and supported by the Catholic Church, with both saying that they had experienced a great sense of depth and renewal. Cardinal Nichols indicated that the Catholic Church would participate in a more organised way next year, but both prelates agreed that a grassroots, parish-led approach to any such initiative was better than a “top-down” one. They encouraged Christians to pray for persecuted people in the Middle East and at the end of the video prayed together for Christian unity. The video, which is available to watch on the archbishop’s Facebook page, had been viewed 217,200 times by the beginning of this week. During the broadcast on Friday 27 May Archbishop Welby revealed that he and Cardinal Nichols met regularly for discussions such as this.

Call for disarmament
Bishop Declan Lang, the chairman of the Bishops’ Conference’s Department of International Affairs, called for an end to all nuclear weapons at the beginning of a London conference on the theological and moral issues around disarmament.

“For decades, nuclear weapons have presented an affront to humanity. As we begin this most vital conversation, let us pray for the strength and guidance to ensure that this is an evil from which future generations will be freed,” he said.

The conference on 24 and 25 May convened 40 bishops, Catholic scholars and police specialists from nine countries and was attended by Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. It was co-hosted by the Bishops’ Conference, whose president, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, said that the technical, strategic debate about nuclear proliferation must be guided by moral considerations.

Lord (Des) Browne of Ladyton, who serves as vice chairman of the Nuclear Threat Initiative and served as UK Secretary of State for Defence, told the colloquium: “Global leaders are responsible for the security of their citizens, but faith communities have a responsibility to engage when it comes to matters that challenge and threaten our humanity and indeed, our very survival.”

The Apostolic Nuncio, Antonio Mennini, led a Corpus Christi procession through the streets of central London on Sunday to mark the transferred Feast. The procession began at Our Lady of the Assumption on Warwick Street and ended at St James’s, Spanish Place.

Separately, an international group processed from St Patrick’s, Soho Square, to the Anglican church of St Giles-in-the-Fields, in the West End.

Historic agreement reached
The Church of Scotland and the Church of England have passed an historic pact that unifies the two institutions. Under the Columba Declaration, which was passed by the General Synod in February and by the Scottish Church’s General Assembly last week, both Churches recognise the sacraments and ordained ministries of the other. Both pledge to welcome members of the other to services and to allow ordained ministers from one to exercise ministry in the other. The report emphasises that joint ecumenical work should also include other Churches and especially the Scottish Episcopal Church, which had previously said it was “deeply hurt” by the arrangement. Bishop David Chillingworth, the Primus, regretted in an online blog that the arrangement could mean that Anglicans visiting Scotland would now worship in Church of Scotland parishes rather than Episcopal parishes.

St Joseph’s Hospice, a Catholic hospice in Hackney in north-east London, was among the first recipients of one of the borough’s new Civic Awards. The Mayor of Hackney, Jules Pipe, praised the valuable work that the hospice had done in the community for over 100 years. “The hospice provides invaluable support to many of the borough’s most vulnerable residents in their time of greatest need, and I can think of no worthier winner,” he said. St Joseph’s, one of the oldest and largest hospices in the country, provides palliative, nursing and medical care. Last week a new chief executive, Nigel Harding, was appointed; he will take over from interim chief executive Ruth Bradley in November.

Relic’s pilgrimage ends
A relic of St Thomas Becket brought over from Hungary continued its pilgrimage around England last week with visits to Westminster Abbey and Rochester and Canterbury Cathedrals. In Canterbury, the site of the saint’s murder in 1170 following his opposition to King Henry II, the relic was processed to the cathedral from the city’s outskirts, a mile and a half away. After a short service the relic was displayed in the cathedral crypt. Afterwards it returned to Hungary.

At a symposium on Becket at Lambeth Palace last Friday, Cardinal Nichols said that the State must work with faith communities to face contemporary challenges. The cardinal said that St Thomas’ martyrdom was a reminder of what can happen “when the state seeks to dominate religious belief and reshape it to its own ends, to its own selection of values”.

Meanwhile it was announced that the relics of St Anthony of Padua will visit Britain in June. The relics of the thirteenth- century Franciscan friar are due to arrive in Paisley in Scotland on Sunday 19 June, then to travel through England to London, where they will be welcomed at St Anthony’s parish in Forest Gate on Sunday 26 June.

The former British Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks, (above) was awarded the 2016 Templeton Prize last Thursday at a ceremony in London. The £1.1 million prize recognised his decades of spiritual work. Former winners include Mother Teresa, Jean Vanier and the Dalai Lama.  

Handmade crosses carved from the driftwood of capsized refugee boats are to be presented to Catholic communities across England and Wales. Carved by Italian carpenter Francesco Tuccio and named “Lampedusa Crosses” after the Italian island near which thousands of refugees have drowned attempting the perilous crossing to Italy, they will be given to parishes by charities including Cafod, the Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN) and Jesuit Refugee Service UK.