The parish priest at the centre of a row about the preservation of a church and its mural in Oldham has told The Tablet that potential buyers were put off because the images of Mary and John the Evangelist had been painted over. Addressing concerns over the mural, and the future of the Holy Rosary parish, that were reported in The Tablet last week, Fr Philip Sumner said: “The congregation there was, relatively speaking, very small and there simply aren’t the priests available to keep many of our diocesan churches open. This is a situation that is being experienced across the dioceses of England and Wales and elsewhere at the moment, and many churches have had to close. When artworks are easily moved, and installed elsewhere, there is rarely an issue. However with the Mayer-Marton crucifixion icon, it would be quite expensive to move.”
Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral has installed new cameras to build on the success of its live streaming service, which currently reaches 5000 people a week. The Panasonic PTZ camera system can zoom in and out, which means the camera can show a wide shot of the whole cathedral, close ups of the priest or readers, and shots of the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament.
A series of interviews with Pope Francis is to form a new book about coronavirus, and what the pandemic crisis can teach society. Let Us Dream: the Path to a Better Future, by Pope Francis, will be published on 1 December by Simon and Schuster simultaneously in English and Spanish and by other publishers in five further languages. The interviews were conducted by the journalist and author Austen Ivereigh. The initiative was inspired partly by an interview Ivereigh did with Pope Francis that was published in The Tablet earlier this year.
London-born Sister Helen Alford OP, vice rector of the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas in Rome, has been appointed ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences by Pope Francis. Sr Helen, born in May 1964, has a degree in management engineering from Cambridge University and a PhD from Cambridge. A religious of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Catherine of Siena, she has taught subjects related to economic ethics and the history of Christian social thought in various universities and has written widely on management theory and corporate social responsibility. She is the fourth woman among the ordinary members of the academy.
On the first weekend of the annual Season of Creation, Climate Sunday – a moveable Sunday during September - was marked by the first time in churches ecumenically across the UK and Ireland. At least 700 churches committed to climate-focused services to pray and explore the theological and scientific basis of creation care and of action on climate. In a pastoral letter for the Season of Creation, the Bishop of Clogher said the coronavirus pandemic has much in common with the environmental crisis. “It has certainly shown us how deeply connected everything is, how vulnerable we are as human beings and how fragile is our world.” Bishop Larry Duffy was among those urged people to examine their lifestyles and appealed to parishes to look at how they can become more sustainable and more eco-friendly.
A World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel’ is being held 13- 21 September. It includes the International Day of Peace on 21 September. The theme is: Creative Solidarity in Common Fragility. Pax Christi England and Wales has encouraged its members to set aside time to pray and light a candle for peace, hold online meetings with speakers to raise awareness of the present situation in the West Bank and Gaza and perhaps cook a Palestinian meal with friends, sharing Palestinian music and stories. Pax Christi’s leaflet Solidarity with Peacemakers in Palestine and Israel can be downloaded from its website and shared in churches. Palestinian products can be purchased from Zaytoun or a local fair trade outlet. Pax Christi also encourages writing to MPs to raise their awareness of the situation in Palestine and Israel and ask them to contact government ministers to ask for those who violate international law and deny Human Rights to be held accountable
Million Minutes has responded to the call of Pope Francis to ‘prepare the future’ now by developing a resource, “to help educators and youth ministers in their work, and support young people to collectively reflect on what has happened with Covid-19 and what lies ahead, keeping the Gospel as our source of hope and inspiration.” It is made up of 12 units, including reflections, questions for discussion, prayers and useful links. Million Minutes, a charity specialising in youth ministry, feels that events of 2020, including COVID-19, the ongoing climate crisis, and the Black Lives Matter movement, have exposed deep rooted and systematic inequalities in our society and this is a time for healing. It aims to help young people to “build back better for communities, families and for God’s creation.”
Supporters of Seeking Sanctuary, a member of the Catholic Social Action Network founded by two Catholics with special concern is for migrants living in destitution in north-western France, were in Dover last Saturday. They joined around 200 pro-refugee activists saying “refugees are welcome here.” Police kept them apart from a similar number of anti-migration protestors who blocked a dual carriageway into Dover, leading to around 10 arrests. Ben Bano, Co-Director of Seeking Sanctuary, commented that “it was important to show our solidarity with many other organisations committed to tolerance and anti-racism.” He told The Tablet that, “given the current climate of intolerance and scapegoating migrants we needed send a clear message from Dover.” Some attendees spoke of the UK selling arms to other countries and supporting the conflicts which have caused so many refugees to flee their home. Mr Bano will be back mid-month when Bishop Paul McAleenan, auxiliary in Westminster and lead bishop for migration and asylum, is visiting Dover to show solidarity with refugees. Seeking Sanctuary reports regular donations of money and supplies from parish communities and religious, indicating their support, despite the hostile narrative that seems to prevail. Around 2,000 migrants around Calais continue to attempt to cross the Channel in small boats, many at the hands of traffickers.
Parish churches in Ireland, both Catholic and Protestant, rang their bells on Saturday in a show of solidarity with frontline emergency and security workers. Organisers of the National Services Day event asked that church bells around the country ring out at 3pm to show appreciation for those who work and volunteer in emergency and frontline services and in remembrance of all who suffered due to the Covid-19 virus as well as with priests and all those engaged in ministry to the sick and bereaved during the pandemic. The theme of this year’s celebration was Remembering with Dignity and it was supported by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin and his Church of Ireland counterpart, Archbishop Michael Jackson. Chairperson of the Frontline Emergency Security Services Eire Forum, Seamus O Neill, explained that current restrictions on gatherings meant that only a very small number of representatives of frontline workers were able to attend the National Services Day celebration in Collins Barracks but that the day had a nationwide impact. He paid tribute to the many priests and ministers who engaged in their ministry throughout the pandemic attending the sick and officiating at funerals.
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has forced the Archdiocese of Dublin to cancel it annual pilgrimage to Lourdes for just the second time in its history. Organisers have opted instead to hold a Virtual Pilgrimage to Lourdes. In September 2019, more than 2,000 people took part in the popular pilgrimage, including the sick, carers, their medical teams, youth groups, students and priests and parishioners. The Dublin pilgrimage has only been cancelled on one other occasion since 1949. In 1953, Dublin pilgrims were forced to return home by a French train strike after they were left stranded in Paris. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin will open the virtual pilgrimage this week which will take place in six different churches across the Dublin over five days and all liturgies will be broadcast via webcam. Pilgrimage Director Fr Martin Noone explained that a direct connection will be made between Dublin and Lourdes on Saturday when, as Mass is being celebrated in Dublin, a Dublin Pilgrimage Candle will be left at the Chapel of Light at the Lourdes Grotto by Mme Fionnuala Brua and Mme Caroline Traynor, who both live in Lourdes and have worked with the pilgrimage in the past.
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