A new group for Catholic supporters of the Conservative Party launched last week on the tenth anniversary of the visit of Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI. Catholics in the Conservative Party, chaired by Andrew Cusack and Frances Lasok, is for members, voters and supporters of the party.
The God Who Speaks, a Bishops’ Conference initiative to help Catholics engage with Scripture, will be the theme of BBC Radio 4 Longwave’s Daily Service until 9 October. On Monday Archbishop of Cardiff George Stack led the service, reflecting on the Incarnation.
Former president of Ireland, Professor Mary McAleese, has said she thinks Pope Francis is “overhyped” in an interview with the Irish Times to tie in with the launch of her memoir, Here’s the Story. She described him as “a big disappointment” for those who hoped he would reform the Church, in particular around women and abuse.
The Dying with Dignity Bill, which seeks to legislate for the introduction of assisted suicide in Ireland, has passed its first stage in the Dáil and will be debated this week. The bill is proposed by People Before Profit Socialist TD Gino Kenny, and is also supported by the Labour party and Sinn Fein. The Pro Life Campaign has described the bill as “a radical piece of legislation” that will enable anyone who has a terminal illness to be euthanised.
The former Chief Medical Officer for Scotland has advised the Scottish Bishops that he sees “no logical reason” for the current limits of 50 attendees at public Mass and 20 at funerals. Sir Harry Burns gave specialist advice at a meeting of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, and also briefed the Bishops on progress toward a viable vaccine, suggesting that one might be ready by the end of the year and made available in early 2021.
Fr Bernard Hall SJ, a former Provincial of the English Province, has died aged 98. Ordained at Heythrop in 1955, he served as Provincial between 1970-76, and was later Superior of the Curia community in Rome.
Representatives of the network People Not Walls were prevented from delivering a petition calling for more support for migrants to the Home Office last week. Campaigners including Fr Dominic Robinson SJ and former Pax Christi chair Pat Gaffney were told no one was willing to meet them, despite the Home Office having received advance notification, and that they must be accompanied by a solicitor. A copy of the petition, which has been signed by almost 400 people, was successfully delivered to the French Embassy, and will be delivered to the Home Office when a lawyer is found to accompany the group.
More than 200 people, including a number of Religious and diocesan financial trustees, attended the first of two webinars about ethical divestment hosted by climate group Operation Noah last week. The online meeting, on divestment from fossil fuels, heard from Fr Augusto Zampini of the Vatican’s Covid Commission, as well as from Religious who have divested, including the British Jesuits and the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace.
The Bishop of Shrewsbury, Mark Davies, has asked Catholics in his diocese to dedicate a year of prayer to St Joseph, and to pray in particular for parishes’ recovery from Covid. Bishop Davies said efforts to reopen churches in line with Covid guidance “must surely stand among the most remarkable achievements in the history of the Diocese.”
Members of the UK Santa Marta Group, which works against human trafficking, have warned that the pandemic has exacerbated the suffering of victims of modern slavery. In a blog for The Tablet Bishop Patrick Lynch and Fr Mark Ehichioya Odion MSP said that trafficked people are often forced to work or live in conditions that afford them no protection from the virus. With labour exploitation on the rise, they called for the reintroduction of the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Visa to safeguard people entering the country for work.
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