Pope Francis joined the Archbishop of Canterbury for an online service to mark Pentecost and the culmination of the annual ecumenical prayer movement Thy Kingdom Come this week. In a prerecorded video broadcast during the live service on Sunday Pope Francis urged Christians to seek a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in order that they might be bearers of Christ’s love, light and hope in a world “experiencing a tragic famine of hope”, and to be united in facing the “pandemics of the virus and of hunger, war, contempt for life and indifference to others”. Archbishop Welby preached at the service and the outgoing Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, gave the final blessing.
Fr Giles Goward has been appointed the new Rector of St Mary’s College, Oscott. Fr Goward, a priest of the Archdiocese of Birmingham and currently Pastoral Director at Oscott, will take up his appointment on 28 June. He will be responsible for the formation of students for the priesthood from more than 20 dioceses and Religious Orders from across the UK. Fr Goward takes over from Acting Rector Fr Paul Keane, who has been in position since the former Rector, Canon David Oakley, became the Bishop of Northampton earlier this year.
The Jesuit Refugee Service has backed a new refugee-led group, Refugees Call for Change, that supports and publishes refugees who want to blog about what life is like as an asylum seeker in the UK. JRS UK, which campaigns against the “hostile environment” for asylum seekers in the UK, has called for all migrants to be granted leave to remain during the pandemic.
Christian Climate Action called for a “just green recovery” from the pandemic rather than a return to business as usual, during local protests last weekend. Passionist priest Fr Martin Newall stood on his local high street at Balsall Heath in Birmingham with a sign reading, “No Going Back”. He told The Tablet: “The current situation has shown that it is possible to respond to an emergency with drastic action and radical changes.”
The director of Cafod, Christine Allen, has called people of faith the “unsung volunteering heroes” of the pandemic. In a statement to mark Volunteer Week, Ms Allen revealed that Cafod’s supporters have donated an extra 100,000 hours to help vulnerable communities across the world. “Through our global church networks, we have been able to support hundreds of local organisations and experts to provide life-saving and life-changing care in their communities,” she said. Also this week Neil Thorns, director of advocacy at Cafod, said that the rescheduling of the COP26 climate talks to November 2021 means the global community can “get back on track” with regards to tackling the climate emergency.
The Irish Bishops’ Council for Healthcare has said it would welcome an inquiry into the reasons why nursing care facilities in Ireland were so badly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement, the Council, which is chaired by Bishop Michael Router of Armagh, said it was “distressing” that more than half of all COVID-19 deaths so far occurred in nursing care facilities. Of the 1,652 deaths due to Covid-19 in Ireland recorded by 1 June, 900 were nursing home residents. “Nursing homes should be prioritised by the State to ensure that they have the personnel and equipment necessary to deal with such crisis situations as soon as they arise. The lives of those who live in such facilities should be valued, respected, and enhanced,” the Council for Healthcare said.
Confirmations and Communions postponed in the Diocese of Limerick due to the Covid-19 pandemic will begin to take place from late summer, Bishop Brendan Leahy announced on Sunday. Speaking at St John’s Cathedral in Limerick after a streamed Mass for Pentecost, the Bishop of Limerick said the diocese had set up a special registration system on the diocesan website for children whose sacraments were cancelled. Separately, Bishop Kevin Doran of Elphin has blessed wristbands carrying the message “You will be my witnesses” on Sunday which will be given to Confirmation candidates.
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