‘First’ Mass at Holyrood
History was made in the Scottish Parliament during Holy Week when the Archbishop of St Andrews & Edinburgh, Leo Cushley (pictured), celebrated what is believed to be the first Mass at Holyrood.
“It is a generous gesture, which seems to recognise that Catholics are valued participants in the civic life of contemporary Scotland where we seek to work with others in advancing the common good,” Archbishop Cushley said.
The Requiem Mass of Cardinal Keith O’Brien was to take place on Thursday at the Church of St Michael in Newscastle. As requested by the Holy See, the main celebrant was Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who was also to deliver the homily. Cardinal O’Brien, who died on 19 March, after suffering a head injury in a fall, was to be buried at Mount Vernon Cemetery, Edinburgh on 6 April in the grave of his mother and father.
The Scottish Catholic Media Office said the funeral arrangements were agreed following consultations with Cardinal O’Brien’s family and others. In a letter to The Tablet, Canon Matt McManus, a friend of Cardinal O’Brien’s for 60 years, said he was a “faithful and prayerful priest who did much good”. Canon McManus added that he was left with “painful thoughts of the lack of justice, mercy and compassion” the cardinal had suffered from some members of the Church.
Centre names new boss
The Cardinal Hume Centre, which works with homeless young people and families in London, has announced the appointment of a new Chief Executive, George O’Neill, to succeed Cathy Corcoran OBE, who is retiring after 15 years. Currently the Director and Community Leader of L’Arche London, which supports and cares for adults with learning disabilites, Mr O’Neill said: “One thing L’Arche teaches you is that every individual has value and something to give. I was drawn to the Centre as it shares this belief. As its founder Basil Hume said, ‘no life is redundant.’”
Grieving parents will no longer have to meet the costs of burials or cremations when they lose a child, after Prime Minister Theresa May announced the establishment of a Children’s Funeral Fund. It follows a cross-party Parliamentary campaign led by Carolyn Harris MP who needed a loan to bury her eight-year-old-son Martin, after he was killed in a car accident in 1989.
Mrs May praised the “dignity and strength” of campaigners like Carolyn Harris. Some 4,350 children under 18 die each year and bereaved parents can face thousands of pounds in council fees for burial or cremations.
The Bishop of Shrewsbury, Mark Davies, has warned against viewing the Blessed Sacrament in terms of a “secular inclusiveness” that can reduce its true significance to little more than a “token of our hospitality”. In a pastoral letter this weekend, Bishop Davies states that receiving Holy Communion is “the most radical call to holiness” for any person, and that it may never be approached casually.
Ireland’s abortion referendum will take place on Friday 25 May, the Irish Government has said. Voters will be asked if they want to repeal the constitution’s Eighth Amendment, Article 40.3.3, and replace it with wording which hands power to parliament to set the country’s abortion. The Eighth Amendment recognises the equal right to life of the mother and her unborn child. The proposed changes to the law will not feature on the ballot paper and will only be introduced if people vote for repeal.
The Prince of Wales highlighted the suffering of Christians for their faith around the world in a message released on Good Friday. It follows his meetings with Church leaders from the Middle East, organised in part by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, which supports the work of local Churches. “All three Abrahamic faiths have known and continue to know the bitterness of persecution when religion has fallen into the barbaric grip of those who distort ... faith,” Prince Charles said. Figures released last week show 3,249 Christian homes on Iraq’s Nineveh Plains have been restored, of more than 12,000 targeted by Islamic State.
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