The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu (pictured), put on a clerical collar on Sunday, a decade after pledging not to do so until Robert Mugabe stood down in Zimbabwe. When cutting up his collar live on television ten years ago on BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show, he said that Mugabe had “taken people’s identity and literally, if you don’t mind, cut it to pieces.” On the programme again to end his symbolic protest, the archbishop opted to don a fresh collar rather than repair the old one: “I think the lesson for Zimbabwe is the same. They just can’t try and stitch it up. Something more radical, something new, must happen.”
Abuse failures apology
The Abbot of Caldey Abbey, Brother Daniel van Santvoort, has apologised over the failure to refer complaints of historic sexual abuse to police sooner. It has emerged that six women have been paid compensation by Caldey Abbey after they were abused by a monk on the island in the 1970s and 1980s. Since the information came to light, a further five women have come forward to accuse Fr Thaddeus Kotik of having abused them. Allegations were made to the abbey in 1990, two years before he died, but the complaints were not passed on to police. Dyfed Powys Police was made aware of the allegations in 2014.
A Scottish bishop this week visited the Calais migrant camp. The Scottish Catholic media office said the visit, by the Bishop of Galloway, William Nolan, was “in response to increasing numbers of predominantly unaccompanied young people returning following the destruction of the camp last year.” Before his visit, the bishop said its purpose was “to see at first hand the plight of these children and highlight the need for the British and French governments to care for them.”
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has said he does not understand why so many Christians in the US support President Donald Trump. Archbishop Welby told ITV’s Peston on Sunday show that he “really genuinely” could not comprehend why so many “fundamentalists” have provided such a strong base for Mr Trump. The archbishop said he would be willing to attend a state dinner if the President came to Britain on an official visit, noting that his job includes meeting people he disagrees with. But he called Mr Trump’s attitude to women “completely unacceptable” and added: “It’d be unlikely I’d do more than shake hands with him.”
Cardinal Vincent Nichols was due to travel to Plymouth this week for the 440th anniversary of the martyrdom of Cuthbert Mayne. He was expected to preach at Vespers in Plymouth Cathedral on Tuesday and to be the principal celebrant at Mass at Buckfast Abbey on Wednesday, when Bishop Mark O’Toole will preach. The cardinal will also address clergy of the diocese on the theme: “Being a Missionary Priest Today”. Bishop O’Toole told The Tablet: “That means having a heart like that of Jesus and looking out not only for those who come to our churches but for those who no longer come or do not yet come, so that they might know the beauty of encountering him.”
The Archbishop of Glasgow has called on Scotland’s Catholics to celebrate a century of state Catholic education and to challenge those still opposed to denominational schools. In a letter to priests and headteachers, Archbishop Philip Tartaglia described Catholic schools as “not just good for Catholics, but good for Scotland”. The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland has asked the Scottish Catholic Education Service to put forward plans to celebrate the centenary next year of the 1918 Education Act, which at the time sparked a controversy over “Rome on the rates”.
Twitter was the medium of choice for Cardinal Nichols and the Archbishop of Canterbury to respond to the announcement of the engagement of Prince Harry and the American actress Meghan Markle (above). The cardinal said: “We pray for their happiness as they prepare to make their life-long commitment to marriage.” Archbishop Welby said: “I wish them many years of love, happiness and fulfilment – and ask that God blesses them throughout their married life together.” Ms Markle attended a Catholic school but was not brought up as a Catholic. The wedding will take place in spring 2018.
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