The Bishop of Chelmsford, Stephen Cottrell, known for his evangelism and his spiritual writing, has been named as the next Archbishop of York. Born in Essex in 1958 Bishop Cottrell, who is a founding member of the Church of England’s College of Evangelists and Protector General of the Society of St Francis, has spoken out against homophobia and nuclear weapons. He is married with three children. The current Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, is due to retire in summer 2020.
Cardinal Nichols celebrated his Golden Jubilee in the last week of Advent with a Mass at Westminster Cathedral, noting that in his 50 years as a priest many changes had taken place in society, in “our sense of self, in how we build community, in the Church”. The Cardinal said in his homily: “It can happen that, quite often in the course of the years, our hearts enter a state of winter. Within us a cold frostiness can descend. It comes with a sense of our own continuing sinfulness, or with the oft-repeated criticism of our best efforts, or with negative hearsay and gossip. Then, we lose touch with our own goodness and of our integrity. Precisely at that time the Beloved calls out to us, into the depth of our most private gloom or despondency [...] How often do we need to hear these words? How often during fifty years?”
The Catholic adoption agency Cúnamh has ceased operations after 106 years of service. The board of Cúnamh, formerly known as the Catholic Protection and Rescue Society of Ireland, said it was closing with “considerable regret”. The closure, which was announced in March 2018, follows the introduction of new adoption tracing legislation aimed at helping adopted children trace their parents, and which restricts rights and responsibilities for information and tracing to State agencies.
A prominent Anglican clergyman and former chaplain to the Queen, Gavin Ashenden, has been received into the Catholic Church. Ashenden, ordained bishop in a continuing Anglican church after leaving the Church of England, was received by Bishop of Shrewsbury Mark Davies. Now a member of the laity, his bishop has written to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith asking for his future to be considered, which could possibly open the door to ordination as a Catholic priest. Ashenden, 66, is married with grown-up children and a grandson. He told The Tablet: “The culture has been moving in one direction while I have been moving in the other."
Dr Michael Strode, founder of Hosanna House and Children's Pilgrimage Trust, has died aged 96. A member of the Cistercian community at Caldey Island in Wales, he founded HCPT in 1956 and often travelled with its Lourdes pilgrimages as group doctor until 1990.
Charities have urged the government not to criminalise asylum seekers after more than 60 people were apprehended on Boxing Day trying to cross the Channel in small boats. Care for Calais, a charity working in northern France, said: “It’s hugely disappointing to see the home office criminalising refugees by talking about them in this way; most are just ordinary people who want to keep themselves and their families safe.” Phil Kerton of Seeking Sanctuary said: “The Church has been consistent that in teaching that each person has hopes, fears and ambitions, and a right to leave their home to seek better lives for their family.”
The Bishops of Northern Ireland have described the new abortion law established under the Northern Ireland Act 2019 as “an unjust law” that “everyone is morally obliged to oppose” by conscientious objection. In their response to a consultation on framework to implement the legislation, the bishops said the proposal to provide unrestricted access to abortion up to 12/14 weeks would “amount to abortion on demand”. The Bishops said obstetrics and gynaecology must not become the domain of only those doctors and other medical staff who are willing to participate in abortion services. The Bishops also said that they were completely opposed to any attempt to supply the morning after pill in schools, and said that any inclusion within the school curriculum of information about how to access abortion services would “fundamentally undermine the Catholic Ethos of our schools”.
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