News Briefing: from Britain and Ireland

Bishop David Konstant, the Emeritus Bishop of Leeds, has died aged 86. Bishop Konstant (above) was Bishop of Leeds from 1985 to 2004. He also served as Chairman of the Department for Christian Education and Formation at the Bishops’ Conference and as Chairman of the Catholic Education Service. In 1980, he was involved in preparations that led to the 1982 papal visit to Britain; he was also one of six bishops appointed by Pope John Paul II to the international committee charged with drafting a new catechism. Details of the Requiem Mass will be announced in due course.

Welby to preach at Cathedral
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has been invited to speak at Westminster Cathedral at a service to mark the end of the Year of Mercy. During the 13 November service, announced in an email to priests, the Holy Door at Westminster Cathedral will be closed to mark the end of the Jubilee Year.


Heythrop College has appointed Tamsin Eastwood as its new Chair of Governors, following the recent retirement of Andrew Kennedy. Mrs Eastwood has been a governor of the college since September 2014, a member of the Finance, Resources and Performance Committee and on the Remuneration Committee. “I am delighted to take up my new position at the College,” she said. “My focus now is to continue to work with my fellow governors, our staff, students, friends and partners as we look to agree a positive future for the work and mission of Heythrop College.”

Heythrop, which is set to close in 2018 due to a shortage of funding, has recently welcomed a record number of Masters students.


Marie Stopes International has resumed some of the abortion services that were suspended by the health watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
In August, the provider, which operates in 40 countries worldwide, suspended surgical abortions for girls under 18 and vulnerable women in the UK after safety concerns were raised by inspectors.
Marie Stopes said: “We will make sure we learn from this and never again fall below the standards women have every right to expect from us.” The CQC said it would continue to monitor the charity.


Senior faith leaders have written to the Prime Minister, urging her to allow nearly 400 refugee children stranded at the Calais Jungle camp to come to the UK. Signatories, including Lord Williams of Oystermouth, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, Harun Rashid Khan, sent the letter after Mrs May’s conference speech last week. France is planning to demolish the camp by the end of the year and relocate the occupants. The letter calls on the Government to ensure that, prior to any demolition, “every single child of the 387 identified as eligible for transfer by [the charity] Citizens UK is transferred to Britain”.

Flannery reinstated
Bishop John Kirby of Clonfert has been forced to revoke his instruction to the Civil Registration Service to remove the name of censured priest Fr Tony Flannery from the approved list of marriage solemnisers. After the Redemptorist superior intervened, Bishop Kirby wrote to Fr Flannery, apologising for his “serious error” in seeking his removal, and for stating that he had “left ministry” as the reason for removing him. “Without thinking or reflecting on its significance, I entered that phrase (‘left ministry’) on the official form,” the bishop explained in his letter.

Fr Flannery, who was censured by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith over four years ago, stressed in his blog: “I have not left ministry. I still exercise my priestly ministry in a private capacity when the occasion arises.” He criticised Bishop Kirby, his local bishop whom he has known for 40 years, for “defaming my good name in an official state document”.


The Archbishop of Birmingham, Bernard Longley, led more than 130 Catholics in a “walk of witness” to support action to assist refugees last week. The group (above) walked from St Chad’s Cathedral in Birmingham to the International Convention Centre, where the Conservative Party Conference was held, and heard from Caroline Spelman MP, who serves as Second Church Estates Commissioner, providing a link between Government and the Church of England. The event was coordinated by Cafod, Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN), and local charities.


The Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh has praised the work of a West Lothian credit union as reflecting the principles of Catholic social teaching. In a letter to the union, which has grown out of a justice and peace group at St Peter’s parish in Livingston and which has made loans totalling £10m, Archbishop Leo Cushley said the principle of subsidiarity, emphasising “the initiative and responsibility of individuals and intermediary bodies” above larger or government institutions, was illustrated by the work of the credit union, and was central to Catholic social teaching.


The first bishop of the UK’s new Syro Malabar eparchy (diocese) was ordained at Deepdale stadium (above), home to Preston North End, last weekend. More than 12,000 people attended the Ordination Mass of Fr Joseph Srampickal, who will preside at the Syro Malabar cathedral, St Ignatius Church in Preston. Pope Francis created the Eparchy to serve the 40,000 Syro Malabar Catholics in Britain in July.
 
Prisons week marked
Nearly 90 church leaders congregated at HMP Pentonville in London this week to pray for prisoners and their families. Christian leaders, including Catholics, gathered on 10 October, during Prisons Week, to pray for criminals and the victims of crime. The event included an introduction to Prison HOPE, a scheme that encourages the Church to engage more actively with prisons. Prisons Week runs from 9-15 October. Further information can be found at www.prisonsweek.org


The Medaille Trust – a charity working to eradicate human trafficking and modern day slavery – will celebrate its 10th anniversary on 12 November with a Pontifical Mass at Brentwood Cathedral. The charity was founded by groups of Religious congregations in 2006 in response to a plea from Pope Benedict XVI. In 2015, 3,266 people were found to be trafficking victims in the UK but the Trust says this is just the “tip of the iceberg”.