Photos of nuns at polling stations in the local, Scottish and Welsh elections were a hit on Twitter last week, with #nunsatpollingstations bringing levity to election day. These were from the Tyburn Convent, in central London. Twitter’s Sisters also joined in, with Sister of St Joseph of Peace Katrina Alton observing: “The right to vote for working-class women was hard won – so vote, even if you ‘spoil’ your ballot as a protest.”
The prior provincial of the British Province of Carmelites, Fr Kevin Alban, died on 4 May aged 62 years. His funeral will take place at Aylesford on 17 May. The former president of Ireland, Mary McAleese, is among a number of prominent Catholic theologians backing a new academic study that takes issue with the recent CDF ruling against blessing same-sex relationships. The Wijngaards Institute report sets out to disprove Christian objections to same-sex relationships and calls for an urgent change in Church teaching, “which should serve as the final nail in the coffin of biblical and other arguments justifying homophobia”, the authors say.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols has urged Catholics to join in the annual ecumenical prayer initiative, Thy Kingdom Come, ahead of Pentecost. He called in particular for Christians to partner with the Holy Spirit in care for Creation.
Bishop Michael Duignan of Clonfert, the youngest bishop in the Irish bishops’ conference, has spoken of the future for the Irish Church post-pandemic. “There may even be a growing realisation that, although much of what we normally do as Church was absent these last months, for many people, it was not really missed,” he said. “We have often spent much time and energy trying to engage with and convert secular society. Perhaps now is the time for us to seriously engage with and convert ourselves and the way we live as a Christian community within that secular society.”
An Opus Dei charity in Ireland is seeking to fast-track planning approval for hundreds of apartments in south Dublin in a development which will be worth over €100 million (£85.9m) when complete. Glenavy Educational Foundation is seeking planning permission to develop a 4.67-acre site at Nullamore in Dartry. Nullamore University Residence currently operates as student accommodation for Opus Dei’s 500 members and families in Ireland.
Laudato Si’ week in the UK will be marked with an online ecumenical prayer service on 19 May, hosted by Cafod, Christian Aid and Tearfund, and an online evening of reflection on 24 May for Scottish Catholics. A webinar on 17 May, involving Cafod director Christine Allen and Fr Augusto Zampini of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, will look at the political opportunities to create change.
Online absolution Irish Augustinian Fr Iggy O’Donovan has told LMFM local radio that he offered general absolution online during the pandemic because “it was that or nothing at all”. The Co Tipperary-based priest told The Tablet: “It is a matter of ... not being chained down with codes and canons. Presumably, the Lord is the final arbitrator in these matters.” He also invited the faithful “to meet in their homes for the breaking of the bread” as in the Acts of the Apostles. “Who is to say that was not a valid Eucharist? The alternative was no Eucharist during lockdown,” he said.
Caritas Bakhita House in London, caring for trafficked women, has been recognised for its efforts to protect vulnerable women with a True Honour Award from the IKWRO Women’s Rights Organisation. Edinburgh’s Jesuit Centre has organised a series of three talks to mark the 500th anniversary of the “Cannonball Moment” during the Battle of Pamplona in 1521 that resulted in the conversion of St Ignatius of Loyola. Fr James Hanvey, the Jesuit superior general’s secretary for the service of faith, will speak on 18 May. Sally Axworthy MBE, the British Ambassador to the Holy See, will speak on 25 May. The talks will be streamed live to Facebook on the page Edinburgh Jesuit Centre.
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