A landmark study into religious and ethnic diversity in England and Wales has revealed a complex pattern of attitudes towards multi- culturalism in Britain, with Catholics among the most uncom- fortable about the idea of welcoming a Muslim into their family. The research by the Woolf Institute, which surveyed 11,701 adults in England and Wales, explored attitudes towards diversity on a societal and a personal level – including asking respondents how they would feel about a close relative marrying someone from a different background. Religious people are more likely to be comfortable with religious diversity in England and Wales – they are 21 per cent less likely to express discomfort than people with no religion. Almost two thirds of all respondents said that the number of migrants in Britain has increased too quickly in the past 10 years. Religious people are more likely to have friends from other faiths. But the research also found that Christians are among the most likely to express discomfort at the idea of a relative marrying a Muslim, at 53 per cent, and Catholics – particularly men – are among the most uncomfortable of all those polled. This is despite the majority of Christians saying they felt com- fortable about a relative marrying a Buddhist, Hindu, Jew, Sikh or person of no faith. “In other words, Muslims were singled out by both Christian and Jewish respondents,” the report states. “Religious prejudice, rather than racism or xenophobia, is the ‘final frontier’ for diversity.” Women appear to be more positive towards diversity. Female respondents were 31 per cent less likely to be negative towards ethnic diversity than males and 30 per cent less likely to be negative towards religious diversity.
Caritas Westminster has launched a new programme called “Road to Resilience” designed to equip schools and parishes to move beyond the emergency provision they have offered communities during the pandemic. It will train staff and volunteers to offer housing, benefit and immigration support. Meriel Woodward, assistant director of Caritas Westminster, said: “As we mark this year’s World Day of the Poor, Pope Francis invites us not just to offer hand- outs to those struggling, but also a hand-up out of poverty and ‘Road to Resilience’ will equip projects with the tools and support needed to do this.” Training and resources will focus on five key areas: food poverty, getting into work, homelessness, social isolation and finance. Over the months of the pandemic, Caritas Westminster has supported feeding programmes for thousands who have lost income. However, project leaders are increasingly concerned about people being forced into long-term poverty by uncertainties and restrictions caused by the circulation of the virus. Catholic churches and schools in Westminster have been involved with 356 food relief projects during the pandemic, and a recent study into 25 of these projects showed 95,946 meals and food parcels were distributed between July and September.
The director of Pax Christi in England and Wales, Theresa Alessandro, is to step down amid changes to the organisation’s executive committee, writes Liz Dodd. Ms Alessandro, who took up the role in March 2019, has led the organisation through the current pandemic, including its recent online training in non-violence, its work for, and response to, the recent ratification of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and the visit to the UK of Kate Hennessy, author and grand-daughter of Dorothy Day. In a statement Pax Christi said: “The executive committee is sorry to report that Theresa Alessandro is standing down as director of Pax Christi in England and Wales, as from 4 December 2020. We very much value what Theresa has brought to Pax Christi and we are very sad to see her go. There will also be some changes in the executive committee, which is managing the way forward.”
Pax Christi has unveiled a winter timetable of events as part of its FaithJustice initiative, a new youth network supported by groups including Pax Christi, the Passionists and the Columbans. The network launched in 2020 as a way of helping young Catholics to reflect on and engage with social justice issues, and has focused its activities online due to the coronavirus pandemic. Events so far have included an online festival exploring issues such as solidarity and migration, an August gathering about a Christian response to the climate emer- gency, and a weekend about the arms trade. Its forthcoming online gathering, A Winter Pause, in partnership with the Jesuits in Britain, will offer a week-long retreat rooted in the Christian mystical tradition.
The bishop for prisons, Richard Moth, has called on the government to do more to protect prisoners and staff during the second Covid wave. Bishop Moth called for an extension of the early conditional Temporary Release Scheme to reduce the pressure on overcrowded prisons and warned of the impact of lockdown on prisoners’ health.
The Bishop of Plymouth, Mark O’Toole, and the Archbishop of Southwark, John Wilson, have reflected on last week’s critical IICSA report. In his homily for Mass last Sunday, Archbishop Wilson said the report makes for “sombre and shameful reading ... I – we – apologise. We must change.”
A new initiative by the National Churches Trust, launched this week, explores the hidden Catholic heritage of England and Wales by showcasing six of its most beautiful and historic churches and chapels. The buildings, chosen from a shortlist compiled by former Tablet deputy editor Elena Curti in her new book, Fifty Catholic Churches to See Before You Die, are profiled online.
Leaders representing more than 100 mostly Evangelical and non-denominational congregations have mounted a legal challenge against Covid restrictions that prohibit public worship. They also include Gavin Ashenden, former honorary chaplain to the Queen, who was received into the Catholic Church last year.
Five Catholic institutions, including the Society of the Sacred Heart (England and Wales Province) and the Mill Hill Missionaries (British Province), have divested from fossil fuels as part of a global movement in response to the climate emergency.
Thousands of young people are at increasing risk of harm and abuse as a result of the economic impact of Covid, according to the youth homelessness charity Depaul UK. In a new report, “Danger Zones and Stepping Stones: Phase Three”, the charity warns that, without a home, young people frequently end up becoming victims of physical, sexual and emotional abuse.
Caritas Salford’s Advent Appeal will take place online this year after Covid restrictions dented the income from church collections that the charity needs to support more than 1,500 people experiencing homelessness this winter.
Cold Feet actor John Thomson provides the voice-over for the appeal film, #MiracleofKindness, about three families who have been helped out of homelessness with the support of Caritas.
Stained-glass windows from Anglican churches in England appear on the Royal Mail’s Christmas stamps this year. The windows depict the Madonna and child and other Nativity scenes.
Pope Francis’ recent remarks in support of civil unions for gay couples did not change doctrine but was still a radically challenging stance, a former spokesman for the Bishop of Waterford and Lismore has said. Writing in his column in the Waterford News and Star, Fr Liam Power said the Pope’s comment marked a shift in attitude with “major pastoral significance”, adding: “Church doctrine needs reformulation in a way that comes to terms with [a modern psychological understanding of sexuality].”
Marking the World Day of the Poor, the Bishop of Limerick, Brendan Leahy, expressed solidarity with those who have been “robbed of the security of work”, and deprived of friendship or education by the Covid pandemic. Meanwhile the Bishop of Derry, Donal McKeown, said that he worried about “a form of Catholicism that talks more about our rights in the lockdown than they do about those who are suffering most because of the pandemic”.
An online service will take place on 2 December to mark the fortieth anniversary of the martyrdom in El Salvador of four Catholic missionaries from the United States. The four are among over 75,000 civilians who died at the hands of government forces during the civil war in El Salvador between 1979 and 1992. The service will be livestreamed at 7 pm from the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Hayes, west London.
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