A terminally-ill baby, Charlie Gard, must continue to receive life support until judges in Strasbourg, France, decide whether or not he should undergo a trial treatment in the United States. The boy’s parents, Chris Gard and Connie Yates (pictured), launched a final challenge to the European Court of Human Rights after failing to get the backing of the UK courts. Ten-month-old Charlie has a rare genetic condition, mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome, that causes progressive muscle weakness and brain damage. Doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London want to end his life support and believe that the experimental treatment in the US would not help. The court said the case was being treated with the “utmost urgency”.
Congress date
The Catholic bishops of England and Wales have announced plans for a National Eucharistic Pilgrimage and Congress in Liverpool on 7-9 September 2018, the first in more than 100 years. The Congress is intended for clergy, religious and laity and will promote an awareness of the central place of the Eucharist in the life and mission of the Church. Events include a Theological Symposium with workshops for a number of groups including parish catechists and hospital and prison chaplains. Every diocese in England and Wales will take part. In a pastoral letter to Westminster Diocese, Cardinal Vincent Nichols said that “we seek to rejuvenate Eucharistic adoration in our parishes as the source of strength for our lives and for our mission”.
Refugees ‘failed’
There has been a major failing of the international community that has left the overwhelming majority of 40.3 million displaced people ignored and forgotten, according to the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, chair of Christian Aid. He was speaking ahead of Refugee Week (19-25 June), as new research shows that the number of people forced to flee their homes within their own countries due to violence and conflict is now twice that of the number of refugees who have crossed international borders. Dr Williams joined bishops from South Sudan and Nigeria to draw attention to the plight of these refugees and called on the UN General Assembly to address this failure when it meets in September.
Youth ministry review
Bishops in Ireland have signalled that a review of youth ministry across the Irish Church may be on the cards in the run-up to October 2018’s Synod in Rome on the theme “Youth, faith and vocational discernment”. In their summer general meeting in Maynooth (above) last week, the Bishops’ Conference discussed preparations for the synod and acknowledged that this is “an important time for a review of youth ministry throughout Ireland”.
No major document on youth ministry has been produced by the bishops since “Called Together. Making the Difference” in 2009, a framework document some believe was overshadowed by the clerical abuse scandals and was under-utilised. A national online survey of young people by youth leaders throughout Ireland, “The Big April Ask”, has already taken place.
The Catholic Church in Scotland has called for a rethink of “so-called anti-sectarian initiatives” after a dramatic increase in religious hate crime in Scotland in the past year. There were 673 charges with a religious aggravation reported in 2016/17, the highest number over the past four years. More than half of the cases, 57 per cent, were directed against Catholics or Catholic institutions; over a quarter were against Protestants and 17 per cent were directed at Muslims.
The UK is lagging behind other rich countries and has some of the highest levels of deprivation and hunger, according to a Unicef report. The UN body that promotes the wellbeing of children ranked 41 high-income countries against a number of indicators highlighting gaps in health, education and income. The report found that nearly one in five UK children under 15 suffers from food insecurity, meaning their family does not have access to sufficient nutritious food, and giving a ranking of 34th out of the 41 countries. It also noted that the mental health of UK adolescents is worsening.
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