Ampleforth College is to increase the number of girls on its roll to a half as part of a series of changes it hopes will make the school more inclusive and diverse. The plans, described in a document released this week, also include the setting up of a small global network of Ampleforth schools, and an increase in bursary support. The college has also addressed the safeguarding issues that were raised by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse’s (IICSA) 2017 investigation into the abuse that took place at the school. The college now has a safeguarding charter. “We are building an intuitive culture of safeguarding,” reads the document, which also reveals that the college, which has been constitutionally separate from the monastery for a few years, will be financially independent from it by September 2021. The changes came after the 2019 appointment of new headmaster Robin Dyer, following a highly critical Independent Schools Inspectorate report on safeguarding, leadership, behaviour, bullying and complaints.
Places of worship are exempt from proposals for a new “traffic light” system of tiered Covid-19 restrictions. A leaked document, seen by The Guardian, outlines three tiers of lockdown. England is currently at alert level one, where social gatherings are restricted. At level two, household mixing will be prohibited, and at level three, hospitality and leisure facilities will close.
A mosaic dedicated to St Jerome was unveiled last weekend as part of celebrations for the Year of the God Who Speaks. Portsmouth-based artist Pete Codling was commissioned by the Bible Society and the Church in England and Wales to mark the Vulgate’s translator, who died 1,600 years ago. Pope Francis marked the occasion with an Apostolic Exhortation, Scripturae Sacrae affectus.
The former Abbot of Mt St Bernard Abbey in Leicestershire, Erik Varden, was installed as Bishop-Prelate of the Catholic Territorial Prelature of Trondheim in Norway last weekend. The Cistercian monk, who was born in Norway, said during his installation Mass that he carries the community “firmly in my heart”.
University College London has appealed for religious people to take part in a study into the impact of Covid-19 on worship, including whether the virus is spread during hymn singing. Some participants will be asked to sing, chant or hum as part of an aerosol droplet test. Information is available here.
A confidential and independent telephone support service, Safe Spaces, has been launched to support those who have suffered abuse within either the Catholic Church or the Church of England. The Churches are funding the service, which is run by the charity Victim Support. The number is 0300 303 1056.
The Baptist Union of Great Britain, the Church of Scotland, and the Methodist and United Reformed Churches have united with Church Action on Poverty to urge the Government to create a Jubilee Fund to provide grants for the UK’s poorest families. The £5- billion scheme would target debts accrued during lockdown to help prevent people from losing their homes.
A stone commemorating the first recorded black resident in Liverpool was unveiled last weekend more than 300 years after his death. Abell was buried at Our Lady and St Nicholas’ Church of England parish near Liverpool’s Pierhead on 1 October 1717. The ceremony took place at the church on 3 October to coincide with the start of Black History Month.
Bishops in Ireland expressed grief over the 6,666 abortions carried out in the Republic of Ireland in 2019 as well as the 200,000 abortions in Great Britain, which they said included a significant number from the island of Ireland. In a statement for Sunday’s Day for Life, the Irish hierarchy said it sought a change of minds and hearts about the dignity of the child in the womb.
Christians across Scotland joined in prayer last Sunday in response to the pandemic. Fourteen church leaders, including Archbishop Leo Cushley of St Andrews and Edinburgh, signed a letter calling for the faithful to recognise that society was undergoing a moment of “real significance that will mark out its future shape and course”.
A group of Catholic parents in Greater Manchester claims a decision to refuse their children free school-bus passes is “discrimination” against their faith. Stockport council says it has withdrawn free bus passes for the children as they live in Edgeley but attend St James Catholic High School in Cheadle Hulme. The cash-strapped council says they are not eligible for free bus passes as there is an alternative school within three miles’ walking distance.
Fr Slawomir Witon has been appointed as the new Administrator of Westminster Cathedral. A former Sub-Administrator, he will take up the role on 1 November, succeeding Canon Christopher Tuckwell, who died in June. Fr Witon has served as parish priest at Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St George, Enfield since 2011, where he also held the post of Dean of Enfield from 2012 to 2018.
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