Cardinal Vincent Nichols and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick have agreed to work together to establish a joint group to study the question of access for Catholic priests at scenes of traumatic violence. In particular, the group will consider whether any changes are required to the guidance issued to officers overseeing crime scenes.
Cardinal Nichols revealed the move in a statement made after greeting Commissioner Cressida Dick ahead of the Catholic Police Guild’s annual Requiem Mass at Westminster Cathedral on 9 November.
The initiative comes after the killing of Sir David Amess MP at a constituency surgery at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, on 15 October. Local priest Fr Jeffrey Woolnough, of St Peter’s Catholic Parish in Eastwood, Leigh on Sea, rushed to the scene when he heard the Catholic MP had been stabbed, but was stopped from passing through the cordon to minister to the victim, particularly the last rites. “I have to respect as a law-abiding citizen that the police would not allow me in and I had to find plan B, and plan B for me was prayer, and I had to pray on the spot, pray on the rosary,” he said afterwards.
The Police Guild’s Mass was celebrated by Bishop Alan Williams of Brentwood, the Guild’s newly appointed liaison to the Bishops’ Conference. The Mass was offered to remember and pray for those in the police service who have lost their lives and was attended by representatives from police forces around the country, both serving and retired, as well as force chaplains and guild members.
Cardinal Nichols said: “I welcome police officers from so many different part of the country to this Mass in which we remember and pray for your deceased colleagues. I offer a particular welcome to Dame Cressida Dick, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service. I wish to thank all of you for the service you give to the people of this country, often in the most difficult of circumstances and with the many challenges facing you.
“In recent days questions have arisen concerning the access given, or refused, to Catholic priests to scenes of traumatic violence, such as the violent death of Sir David Amess. The Metropolitan Police Commissioner and I have agreed to establish a joint group to study this issue and whether any changes are required to the guidance issued to officers faced with such a situation.
“I am grateful to the Commissioner for this agreement and I am confident that it will help to establish a helpful way forward in this matter of considerable sensitivity and importance to the Catholic community.”
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