The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have apologised to LGBT people for suffering they have undergone as a result of the Church of England’s actions, in a new report about faith and sexuality. “Living in Love and Faith” was commissioned in 2017 after General Synod rejected a House of Bishops’ report that urged the Church to oppose same-sex marriage. In their foreword, Archbishops Justin Welby and Stephen Cottrell write of the Church’s treatment of LGBT people: “We have caused, and continue to cause, hurt and unnecessary suffering. For such acts, each of us, and the Church collectively, should be deeply ashamed and repentant. As archbishops, we are personally very sorry where we have contributed to this.”
Research by the Centre for the Art of Dying Well at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, has found that the pandemic has made grieving for the dead more difficult. Restrictions around funerals or cremations, combined with social distancing, are making mourning harder, according to a poll that was carried out by Savanta ComRes ahead of Remembrance Sunday.
The Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle has responded to criticism of its decision to move its bishop’s residence to a six-bedroom property with a gym and sun terrace in an affluent part of Newcastle, which was on the market for £935,000. In a statement, the diocese said the building would replace the larger East Denton Hall, currently used as the bishop’s residence, and would also function as an administrative office. Bishop Robert Byrne “had no part” in the decision, according to the diocese, which was approved by the board of trustees.
The censured Redemptorist priest Fr Tony Flannery has revealed that his superior general, Fr Michael Brehl, told him that “it must have been somebody very high up in the Irish Church” who reported him to the Vatican, which resulted in him being withdrawn from ministry in 2012. In an online talk to We Are Church Ireland, Voices of Faith and the Catholic Women’s Council, the 73-year-old priest explained that the Redemptorists withdrew him because of pressure from the Vatican, and also because the order’s general council believed that had they not removed him, the Vatican would have removed the superior general and put someone of their own choosing in his place.
Isolation is the most damaging aspect of the pandemic for elderly rural priests in Ireland, according to a spokesperson for the Association of Catholic Priests. In an online presentation, Fr Tim Hazelwood said that some priests were only contacted by a diocese about “money or data protection or things like that, but it is left up to us to find the support we need”. Fr Hazelwood said that some priests have been upset by “very hurtful criticism” from “Mass- hoppers” who go from one online Mass to another, passing comments on priests’ “performances”.
The Bishop of Plymouth has asked his parishes to renew their focus on mission in a reflection document called A Precious Place of God’s Grace that will shape the future of the diocese. Produced by Bishop Mark O’Toole and his council, it looks ahead “to 2025 in terms of parish structures, availability of priests, provision of sacramental life and the resources needed to meet the evangelising mission of the Church in the Diocese of Plymouth”. Lay people, Religious and clergy of the diocese are invited to participate in a journey of discernment that will conclude with proposals about pastoral provision in each deanery.
Bishop John Arnold, environment lead for the bishops’ conference, has joined more than 60 UK faith leaders in writing to the prime minister calling on the Government to deliver new, ambitious plans to tackle climate change. The UK has the presidency for the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference to be held in Glasgow in November 2021. Faith leaders say the UK has a key role to play rallying countries to take steps to limit the global temperature rise this century.