St Francis Xavier’s College, a Catholic school in Liverpool, has paid tribute to former student James Furlong, who was killed in the knife attack in Reading last Saturday. “We are all proud of him and it is especially good that James dedicated his life to education,” the school said in a statement. A man has been arrested in connection with the attack, in which three people died. Tributes were left outside the Holt School (pictured), Wokingham, where he taught
The Bishop of Shrewsbury, Mark Davies, has urged Catholics to oppose Government plans to ease restrictions on Sunday trading. Proposals to make Sunday a full trading day have been raised as a way of boosting the economy after lockdown. The bishop said deregulation would have an adverse effect on human wellbeing, and could lead to the downgrading of festivals, including Christmas Day and Easter Sunday.
Churches in Scotland opened for private prayer on Monday, with strict social distancing rules in place. Bishop Hugh Gilbert of Aberdeen welcomed the decision and looked forward to the resumption of public liturgies.
Bishops in Southwark have written to all the schools in the archdiocese saying that there is no place for racism in their communities. They called on young Catholics to work and campaign for racial justice. “We want you to use your passion for justice to make a difference to your schools and parishes, your neighbourhoods and communities,” they wrote.
More than 4,000 people have called a “Mass-by-Phone” service in the Diocese of Middlesbrough. The service, which has been running for six weeks, is believed to be the first to make Mass available over the phone, and was launched for people who do not have access to the internet. Bishop Terry Drainey said: “One lady phoned in tears to say thank you because for the first time in years she had been able to hear the words of the Mass in her own home.”
The Catholic Theological Association has postponed its annual conference to September 2021. The gathering, to be held in conjunction with the Irish Theological Association, is due to consider the theme of “Eco-theology”.
The Catholic Union has called on the Government to scrap the two-child limit for childcare support in light of the financial pressures facing families during the coronavirus pandemic. Under the current policy, the childcare element of Universal Credit and Tax Credits are capped at two children per household.
Catholic charities have welcomed the Government’s decision to provide school meal vouchers to children over the summer holiday, a U-turn that came after a campaign by the Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford. Brentwood Catholic Children’s Society described the scheme, which provides families with an extra £15-£30 a week, as a lifeline. However David Watson, headteacher at St Thomas More Academy in Tyneside, worried that the move was a temporary response to the pandemic, while children need such support every year.
Ruth Kelly, Pro Vice Chancellor (Enterprise and Development) at St Mary’s University, is to step down. The university said that she was to undertake a new international opportunity.
MPs in Westminster voted by 253 votes to 136 to approve recently introduced abortion regulations for Northern Ireland. The regulations, which came into effect at the end of March, allow for abortion on demand in the first 12 weeks of a pregnancy, and disability- selective abortion up to the point of birth. Right to Life UK said: “Today is an incredibly tragic day for Northern Ireland, for the unborn child and everyone who supports the right to life.”
Only six of the Irish Church’s 26 bishops responded to a letter sent by three Catholic groups requesting them to make public the quinquennial reports they submit to the Vatican ahead of their ad limina visits. The Association of Catholic Priests, the Association of Catholics in Ireland and We Are Church Ireland submitted the request three years ago. The reports contain information about the life and work of the Church in its dioceses.
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