News Briefing: from Britain and Ireland

Some 23 churches are to be closed as part of a major diocesan restructure the Bishop of Salford, John Arnold (above), has revealed, with 100 of the diocese’s 150 parishes involved in amalgamations. The proposals were first revealed in June last year, but a document on the diocesan website reveals for the first time the full extent of the restructure. In a report the diocese said that it had made particular efforts to ensure that parishioners would not have to travel far to their nearest church. In addition Bishop Arnold said that “closed” churches would not be shut down for good, rather that they would not have a resident priest or regular Mass, but could be used for other purposes – for example, as a day centre or night shelter. (See www.thetablet.co.uk)

The Bishop of Chelmsford, Stephen Cottrell has emerged as front-runner to succeed Richard Chartres as Bishop of London. Bishop Cottrell has links with both the Catholic and Evangelical wings of the Church of England. Four women – including the Bishop of Gloucester Rachel Treweek – are also in the frame, according to bookmaker William Hill. The formal appointment process has not begun but Ruth Gledhill, editor of the Christian Today website, said Cottrell’s name “is increasingly being spoken of in church circles as someone with the experience and charisma to lead the Church of England’s fastest-growing, most diverse and most complex diocese”.

The Home Office is training its visa and immigration caseworkers to ask Christian asylum seekers fleeing persecution questions that focus on their spiritual journey and involvement with their new faith, rather than how much they know about the religion.

The new training programme, developed with the assistance of the British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA) during 2016, follows a report published by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief in June that said the Home Office’s way of assessing claims for asylum from Christian converts was inadequate, and that some genuine converts were turned down because officials were testing them on their knowledge of “Bible trivia”, such as “how many books are in the Bible?”

The founder of Mary’s Meals, the charity that provides school meals for some of world’s poorest children, has been given a prestigious parliamentary award for its work. The All-Party Parliamentary Pro-Life Group and the charity Right to Life will present Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow (above) with the Westminster Award for Human Life on 7 February in the Palace of Westminster. Mr MacFarlane-Barrow founded the charity in 1992.

Church ‘not homophobic’
The Catholic Church must develop new apologetics to address intolerance, the Bishop of Portsmouth has said in response to a senior government adviser’s suggestion that Catholic schools are “homophobic”. Bishop Philip Egan said that trying to preach sexual morality in Britain had become “like arguing with an alcoholic” because of the angry reaction in the face of reason.

“After a while, they won’t argue with you on grounds of reason, they just become furious and respond that way,” he told Catholic News Service. “There is something in our culture increasingly like that.”

Dame Louise Casey, a senior government adviser on integration, told politicians that UK Catholic schools should not teach that same-sex marriage was wrong. In oral evidence to the communities committee of the House of Commons, Dame Louise, who was raised as a Catholic, said “religious extremism” was a continuing problem in some British schools. Bishop Egan said any attempt to stop Catholic schools from teaching the faith would be worthy of the pages of 1984, the George Orwell novel that introduced the term “thought crime” into the English language. He said it was increasingly difficult to engage in reasonable discussion and argument over anything to do with sexuality.

The North of England needs greater devolution of powers and Brexit could provide such an opportunity, the Archbishop of York has told Parliament.

Addressing members of the House of Lords during a debate about the state of the North, Dr John Sentamu said: “We need more devolution from south to north. Devolution of powers and devolution of institutions. We need cabinet-level figures to champion the North – people who know the qualities of the North from experience of their own.” Welcoming the recent “State of the North 2016” report by the Institute for Public Policy Research, the archbishop said: “Unless we get things right in the North, the whole country will be more divided.”

Provincial superior chosen
Fr Richard Mway Zeng SDS was elected Provincial Superior of the Salvatorians (Society of the Divine Saviour) at their chapter meeting in Wealdstone on 11 January. Fr Zeng, 39, was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and came to the UK in 2008. He previously served as novice master and a provincial consultor. He will be responsible for 25 Salvatorians in the UK and Ireland. Fr Zeng is parish priest of St Patrick’s, Plumstead, southeast London.

The lead bishop for mental health, Bishop Richard Moth, has welcomed the Government’s plans to prioritise and promote well-being and mental health in communities, schools and workplaces. In a speech on 9 January at the annual Charity Commission lecture, Prime Minister Theresa May announced a package of new measures to support people with mental health problems, particularly the young. Bishop Moth said: “I am delighted that the Prime Minister has promised to tackle the social stigma attached to mental ill-health and has made improving mental health support a priority for her government.”

Longley serves in soup kitchen
The Archbishop of Birmingham, Bernard Longley (above), volunteered last week alongside members of the city’s Sikh, Catholic and Muslim communities at a soup kitchen for homeless people. Archbishop Longley said the volunteers “are truly bringing the presence of Christ into people’s lives”. He said he was particularly struck by the number of Polish people seeking help.

Charles Wookey, a part-time assistant general secretary at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, is to leave the post to focus on his role as chief executive of A Blueprint for Better Business. The organisation, set up by Cardinal Nichols in 2012, supports ethical business practices. Former Labour MP Greg Pope, deputy director of the Catholic Education Service, will take over his role at the Bishops’ Conference.