The bishops of England, Wales and Scotland have said that Catholics can receive the Covid vaccine currently being rolled out across the UK. One of the vaccines, by AstraZeneca, has been developed from cell lines originating from the cells of an aborted foetus. The bishops note that Catholics may “in good conscience and for a grave reason” receive such a vaccine, and, “we judge that this grave reason exists and that one does not sin by receiving the vaccine”. The Pfizer & BioNTech vaccine approved for use in the UK is an mRNA-based vaccine and developed from a different source. The bishops leave it up to individual Catholics to make an informed decision, but say they have a duty to protect others from infection.
The first full-time paid diocesan post focusing on the environment has been created in the Diocese of Salford. Salford’s new head of environment is Dr Emma Gardner, who has joined the diocese from the University of Manchester where she was head of environmental sustainability for eight years.
The Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Great Britain, Archbishop Nikitas, visited St Mary’s University in Twickenham last week. He met the chair of governors, Bishop Richard Moth, the vice chancellor and senior academics from the university’s interfaith dialogue and modern slavery research teams.
A priest in the Birmingham Archdiocese, Fr Joseph Quigley, has been found guilty of physically and sexually abusing a boy between 2006 and 2009. The former adviser to the Catholic Education Service of England and Wales was removed from active ministry in 2012.
Black parishioners in a west London church have reported being rejected by white parishioners during the Sign of Peace, a meeting of the Westminster Justice and Peace Forum was told this week. Fr Richard Nesbitt of Our Lady of Fatima Parish at White City said his community opened his eyes to the importance of racial justice. His parishioners spoke of the lack of black people in leadership roles in the Church or diverse racial imagery in artwork in church. He said that the behaviour of some during the peace was “the most shocking”.
Fans of JRR Tolkien have launched a campaign to turn the house where he wrote The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit into a museum. The campaign, Project Northmoor, by author Julia Golding, hopes to raise enough money to buy the £4 million house in north Oxford and turn it into a literary centre.
The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP) in Ireland has warned that low-income families will face “impossible choices” this Christmas. Launching its annual appeal, SVP’s national president, Rose McGowan, said that between January and early November almost 112,000 requests for help were received in Ireland as families struggled with an unstable housing market, high childcare costs, energy and education costs. “With Christmas approaching, we expect that number to increase substantially,” she warned.
Bishop Donal McKeown of Derry this week launched a year of events to mark the 1,500th anniversary of the birth in 521 of Irish missionary St Columba. In his homily at a special online Mass at the Long Tower Church in Derry, Bishop McKeown said the Columban year was not just a Catholic celebration. “The main Christian Churches in Derry and Donegal are working together so that we can remember one who is part of our shared history. Our past contains stories of great saints and wonderful people of learning.”
The Redemptorist community in Belfast has hosted the closing Mass of the Men’s Holy Family Confraternity after 123 years in existence. The Redemptorists described it as “a sad occasion” but said there was much to be grateful and thankful for. The Redemptorist community of Clonard is still active, particu- larly in its confessional ministries, its youth ministry and its ministry for peace and reconciliation.
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