An independent review has concluded that the Church in Scotland has made “a good start” in reforming its safeguarding practice but has recommended “detailed and urgent consideration to the creation of a strengthened, resourced and independent Scottish Catholic Safeguarding Service with appropriate professional support as a crucial step to promote transparency and restore credibility”.
The review, chaired by Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke (pictured), was set up to consider the Church’s response to the 2015 McLellan Commission into the Church’s handling of abuse allegations. Baroness Liddell said that the review group had found “a willingness to adopt that change” but said that real progress could only be made as a result of “deep analysis of strengths and weaknesses”.
New refugee group launched
Westminster Justice and Peace has this week launched a new cross-Channel human rights partnership called People Not Walls. Announced on Thursday, which was World Refugee Day, the group is comprised of French and British faith groups and NGOs including Help Refugees, Secours Catholique and Caritas, and will lobby for refugees’ rights. It was launched with demonstrations on both sides of the Channel, including a vigil and march in Dover and a gathering of local residents, refugees and support workers on the beach in Calais in France.
The Order of Malta in partnership with the Nehemiah Project has opened a further residential home for addicts in Croydon, south London. The home, sponsored by the Order and run by the Nehemiah Project, a Christian-based charity, focuses on the rehabilitation of addicts most of whom are prisoners or ex-offenders. The Archbishop of Southwark, Peter Smith, attended the launch.
LGBT Catholics Westminster, which provides pastoral support for gay and trans Catholics, has responded to the Vatican’s new document on sex and gender, noting that it “doesn’t provide anything particularly new”. In a statement, the group reaffirmed that it sought to build a welcoming environment for LGBT Catholics, their families and friends. The Vatican document, issued by the Congregation for Catholic Education, criticised “gender ideologies” that say a person can choose their gender.
Pro-life groups have expressed alarm at Department of Health statistics which revealed that the abortion rate for England and Wales reached a record high in 2018.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) figures published last week showed that more than 200,000 abortions took place in the UK in 2018, an increase of 4 per cent on the previous year. A further 4,687 abortions were carried out on non-residents in 2018. Some 39 per cent of women who had abortions had one or more previous abortions.
Life’s head of advocacy, Liz Parsons (pictured), blamed “the abortion lobby” for pressing for easier access to abortion while the charity Both Lives Matter called for better support for women facing “crisis pregnancies”.
The Bishop of Portsmouth, Philip Egan, has announced a major new initiative to support evangelisation in his diocese. In a message on Twitter that followed a meeting of the Bishop’s Council to discuss the diocesan mission of “Bringing People closer to Jesus Christ through His Church”, Bishop Egan said: “We’re going to establish a 10-year strategic plan for evangelisation with a new Episcopal Leadership Team to help devise it.”
Apology over ‘zombie’ homily
The Bishop of Ossory and the Capuchin order have apologised after a Capuchin friar’s homily likened gay people and those who use contraceptives to infected zombies.
In a statement Bishop Dermot Farrell expressed his sadness at the “inappropriate language and sentiments” expressed by Fr Tom Forde at Mass in the Capuchin friary in Kilkenny.
Fr Forde criticised spiritual zombiehood, which he said was manifest in “the abuse of drugs and alcohol, adultery, fornication and homosexuality, as well as in the acceptance of abortion and contraception and in the move to legalise euthanasia”.
He told the congregation: “We sense that many of those around us are physically alive but spiritually dead, morally rotten or at least infected.”
Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh has said Eucharistic adoration is likely to increase as the number of Masses and priests decline in Ireland.
In Knock for the Adoremus Conference organised by members of the Apostolate of Eucharistic Adoration, the Archbishop described the Eucharist as the Church’s “most precious possession”.
Acknowledging the decline in religious practice, priestly vocations and the number of Masses, he said: “In the future, when weekday and even Sunday Mass is not available, some of you might be formed to lead a period of guided adoration with prayers, praise and sharing of the Word of God.”
The Apostolate of Eucharistic Adoration is an association of lay devotees of the Blessed Sacrament. Its mission is to assist parishes and dioceses to develop weekly Eucharistic adoration.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols remembered the prayerfulness and inspiring ministry of Cardinal Basil Hume (pictured) at a Mass to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of his predecessor’s death. Speaking at Westminster Cathedral on Monday Cardinal Nichols said: “What I cherish most about Cardinal Hume is his stature as a man and teacher of prayer.” He said it had been a great privilege to pray in the chapel where Hume once prayed, “to pray before the same crucifix”. Cardinal Nichols concluded: “With a single-minded purpose, he longed to go to [God] empty-handed, with no claim to achievement of his own.”
Pilgrim routes revival welcomed
A cross-party group at Holyrood has supported an initiative to revive Scotland’s pilgrimage routes. A parliamentary motion by Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser said that routes such as the Way of St Andrews could bring an additional £2.5 million over five years to the Scottish economy, as well as health and cultural benefits.
The Catholic Church in Scotland welcomed the initiative, which also includes six long-distance routes, including the St Margaret’s Way, St Columba’s Way, St Ninian’s Way, and four shorter pilgrimages, among which are the Rosslyn Chapel Way and St Margaret’s Elbow.
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