News Briefing: from Britain and Ireland

The Irish Minister for Housing, Simon Coveney (above), has indicated that he will be seeking a meeting with representatives of the country’s religious orders in the coming weeks to see if they can help tackle the housing crisis in Ireland by handing over any empty properties or land banks they hold.

According to The Irish Times, Mr Coveney said he wanted a “direct conversation” with the orders about what they could do to help ease the crisis.

His comments were made after he opened a supported housing project in Dublin in a building previously owned by the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, and now run by the Sophia Housing Trust. Some religious orders have already handed over properties as part of their contribution to the costs of a scheme to compensate former residents of religious-run residential institutions. 

Faith charities have a combined income of roughly £16.3 billion, which represents nearly a quarter of the total income of all charities in England and Wales, according to a new Faith Matters’ report. New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) analysed the size, scope and mission of faith-based charities in England and Wales as part of a larger project on understanding the impact of religion in the voluntary sector. The research showed that 27 per cent of all charities are faith-based and nearly four in 10 anti-poverty charities are religious. Rachel Wharton, Policy and Development Officer at NPC and one of the report’s authors, said: “Nearly half the voluntary organisations protecting human rights and helping overseas development have religious roots.”

Nichols’ safeguarding message
Cardinal Vincent Nichols sent a strong message to the annual Anglophone Safeguarding Conference meeting in Rome from 20-23 June. He said much had been learned about protecting children, but the Church still had to listen carefully to the survivors of abuse. “To damage a person both in their nature and in their capacity to receive divine grace is to leave a person profoundly burdened in the greatest quest of their life,” he said. Bishop Marcus Stock attended the conference as a representative of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.

Pro-life charity Life said it was “relieved” by the British Medical Association’s (BMA) decision to restate its opposition to assisted dying, following a vote at its annual conference in Belfast. The decision – by a two-to-one majority – came after doctors debated whether to change their position on assisted suicide from opposed to neutral. The charity’s spokesman, Peter Sullivan, said that the outcome showed that “doctors at the BMA have carefully considered the intensive and thorough study done by the association on this issue and have decided that legalising assisted suicide will place their patients at risk and damage the relationship between patients and their doctors.”

Six men were ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Vincent Nichols at Westminster Cathedral on 25 June. During the homily, which preceded the Ordination Rite, Cardinal Nichols, echoing the words of St Paul, enjoined the men to lead a life worthy of their calling, promising them his prayers and support. The new priests will take on roles within Westminster Diocese. Fr Christian de Lisle will be Assistant Priest at St Paul’s, Wood Green. Frs Tom Montgomery and Chinedu Udo have been appointed Assistant Priests at Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St George, Enfield, Fr Damian Ryan goes to St John Vianney, West Green, as Assistant Priest, Fr John Scott will serve as Cathedral Chaplain and Fr Tony Thomas has been appointed Assistant Priest at St George, Sudbury.

Orlando victims remembered
LGBT Catholics in London remembered those killed in Orlando’s Pulse nightclub attack at a Mass in Farm Street Jesuit Church in London on 26 June. Omar Mateen, the killer shot by police, was included in their prayers, with all 50 photos of those who died placed in front of the church’s sanctuary. “We need to pray for everyone killed, their loved ones and families, but also Mateen, as a tortured individual, whose perception of belief appears not to have enabled him to integrate his sexuality and faith,” said a spokesperson. The Mass followed a strong Catholic presence in Saturday’s Pride Parade in London.

The Diocese of Galloway in Scotland has appointed its first lay woman Chancellor. Ann Tierney will have responsibility and oversight for the running of the diocesan office and will be the first point of contact for anyone dealing with the diocese. Commenting on the appointment, Bishop William Nolan of Galloway said: “I am delighted that Ann Tierney has agreed to accept this post. She is well respected by the clergy and laity of the diocese.”

The position of Chancellor is usually carried out by a priest, but can be filled by a lay person. Mrs Tierney will take up her post this month.

World Refugee Day
The Irish bishops have called for policy makers “not to close their eyes to the needs of our brothers and sisters,” in a statement to mark World Refugee Day. The bishops said that the level of solidarity for persecuted Christians, refugees and migrants is “often inadequate.”

Speaking about displaced Christians specifically, the bishops recalled paragraph 46 of the Pope’s encyclical, Amoris Laetitia: “Every effort should be encouraged, even in a practical way, to assist families and Christian communities to remain in their native lands”. The Archbishop of Armagh, Eamon Martin, will lead a delegation from the Irish Bishops’ Conference to Iraq in November.

In Ireland, the Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, has announced the establishment of a new centre for faith and reason, which will be overseen by the American University of Notre Dame. The Notre Dame - Newman Centre for Faith and Reason, which will open later in the year and will focus on outreach to young people, will be based at University Church in St Stephen’s Green, Dublin. Fr William Dailey, previously Lecturer in Law at Notre Dame Law School, has been appointed the centre’s director.

Young adults from Catholic and Protestant parishes across the island of Ireland have taken part in a centenary pilgrimage to sites connected with the Battle of the Somme. The Primate of All Ireland, Eamon Martin, whose uncle died in the First World War battle, accompanied the group in prayer at memorials in France and Belgium.