The former rector of St Mary’s College, Oscott, David Oakley, was ordained Bishop of Northampton last week. Preaching on Thursday at the Cathedral Church of Our Lady Immaculate and St Thomas of Canterbury for the Episcopal Ordination, Cardinal Vincent Nichols said that the priestly calling was to teach and guide, but also to emulate the sacrificial servanthood of Christ. Cardinal Nichols also paid tribute to the Bishop Emeritus, Peter Doyle, whom he said was a “new grandfather” for the diocese.
The “Dome of Home”, the church of Ss. Peter & Paul and St Philomena, in New Brighton, Wallasey, has been awarded £362,900 by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The grant money will be used to fully repair and waterproof the iconic cupola of the Art Deco church.
The newly appointed Bishop of Achonry, Fr Paul Dempsey, has been forced to postpone his episcopal ordination due to the coronavirus pandemic. The ceremony was due to take place in the Cathedral of the Annunciation and St Nathy, Ballaghderreen, Co Roscommon on Sunday 19 April. In a statement, Achonry’s Bishop-elect said he would carry on for the time being as parish priest in Newbridge in the Diocese of Kildare & Leighlin. “I have asked that the ceremony be rescheduled until sometime in the summer. This decision has been difficult, but it would not have been appropriate to proceed with the ordination at this time,” Fr Dempsey said. The decision was made in consultation with the Apostolic Nuncio and the diocese.
Scotland’s eight Catholic bishops have unanimously opposed the Government’s proposed Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, which would make it simpler for people to change gender, stating in response to a consultation: “The Church believes that sex or gender cannot be reduced to a mere construct of society that is fluid and changeable. By de-medicalising legal transition and moving to a self-declaratory model, as proposed in the consultation, society may fail to provide the necessary support for those affected by gender dysphoria in the form of contact with health professionals.” The introduction of the bill is understood to have been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic and Holyrood’s consideration of legislation around that.
The Bishop of Portsmouth, Philip Egan, has promised that Sacraments are still to be delivered to the sick and housebound of his diocese during the coronavirus pandemic. In a letter to his diocese on 19 March Bishop Egan wrote: “Hospitals and care homes are urged to enable the priest to visit Catholics who are dying in order for the Last Sacraments and Apostolic Pardon to be administered”. He offered hygiene instructions for avoiding physical contact, such as the priest extending his hands over the sick person for the “laying on” of hands
The Scottish Catholic Observer, the country’s national Catholic newspaper, has asked groups like the Society of St Vincent de Paul (SSVP) and the Legion of Mary to help deliver copies to the elderly and housebound following the suspension of public liturgies. The newspaper, which is usually distributed through parishes, was free this week. “We know it isn’t much but as a small business it is all we can afford to do at this time as our main aim is to keep the newspaper alive,” its editor, Peter Diamond, said in a letter. To buy a print subscription go here.
Pope Francis has appointed two new auxiliary bishops to the Archdiocese of Birmingham. Canon Stephen Wright, who will have pastoral responsibility for the deaneries in Staffordshire, Wolverhampton and the Black Country, and Canon David Evans, who will continue to have pastoral responsibility for the deaneries in Birmingham and Worcestershire, are due to be ordained auxiliary bishops on 10 June at St Chad’s Cathedral, if congregations are meeting then. Archbishop Bernard Longley said in a statement that he was grateful for the considerable pastoral experience the two men would bring to their roles, particularly during “these troubling and uncertain days”.
The Tablet has an online list of useful spiritual and other resources during the Covid-19 pandemic which you can find here.
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