A seminary in the Archdiocese of Armagh is building an extension in order to cater for a sustained growth in vocations. Archbishop Eamon Martin presided over the laying of the foundation stone for extension works at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Dundalk, Co Louth. The seminary was established in 2012 to form priests for the Neocatechumenal Way in Ireland. The present seminary was opened in November 2016, however, with the growth in vocations there is a need to extend the existing building. So far three priests and a deacon have been ordained from the seminary and they are now serving in parishes in Armagh. Another 18 men from six countries (Croatia, Italy, Malta, Poland, Scotland, Spain and the USA) of the Neocatechumenal Way are being formed at the seminary for the Archdiocese of Armagh. “I am hopeful that our young men who are being formed here in Dundalk will be able to bring [a] missionary spirit into their priesthood within the Archdiocese and beyond,” Archbishop Martin said.
Pope Francis has appointed Bishop Michael Duignan, Bishop of Clonfert, to minister simultaneously as Bishop of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Apostolic Administrator of Kilfenora. He accepted the request for retirement of Bishop Brendan Kelly. Although pastorally administered by one bishop, the two dioceses, Galway and Clonfert, will retain their respective rights and juridical autonomy.
The Dean of Christ Church Dr Martyn Percy has accepted a seven-figure sum and agreed to step down in settlement of a long-running controversial dispute that has also seen all disciplinary charges against him dropped.
A vigil has taken place in Liverpool urging reconciliation between Russia and Ukraine and all other nations in conflict including Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Libya, Myanmar, Mozambique and Sudan. The vigil was organised by the Missionaries of Africa who are in charge of the parish of St Vincent de Paul, Liverpool. Fr Terry Madden, M.Afr., welcomed between 70 and 80 people who braved the cold and the rain to be present, including representatives of Pax Christi Liverpool. Those who took part included Cardinal Michael Fitzgerald, M.Afr. and Archbishop Malcolm McMahon, O.P who gave the final blessing.
The Jesuits in Ireland have published details of a redress scheme for survivors of abuse by Fr Joseph Marmion. The scheme offers payments ranging from €10,000 to in excess of €75,000 for the most serious cases. It has been recommended by members of the Steering Group representing survivors of Marmion’s abuse in Belvedere College, Clongowes Woods College, and Crescent College Limerick forty years ago. Irish Provincial, Leonard Moloney SJ, said he hoped the scheme would go some way towards assuring victims of the Jesuits’ commitment to continue responding in whatever ways possible to their concerns. Last August, in a 50-page report, ‘Joseph Marmion – The Jesuit Response’, Fr Moloney admitted that while Marmion’s actions inflicted severe trauma on individual pupils, it was “magnified by the failure of the Jesuits to recognise the danger he posed to schoolboys in our care and in later ministries” or to understand and respond to the needs of his victims. He said the Jesuits did not grasp the destructive effects of his abuse. “Decisions that should never have been made were made. And decisions that should have been made were not made,” the report acknowledged.
Salford diocese launched a modern slavery statement on 8 February, the International Day of Prayer for Awareness Against Human Trafficking. This is the Feast Day of St Josephine Bakhita, the patron saint for trafficking victims. The statement, a collaboration with Caritas Salford, outlines steps the diocese is taking to combat slavery, including ethical investment, work in advocacy and social justice, training and advice. Bishop John Arnold of Salford said: “I welcome and endorse this statement which acknowledges our potential complicity in human exploitation and commits the Diocese to doing everything we can to ensure that our supply chains are free of modern slavery.” He said it was important “to ensure that all members of the church, clergy, parishioners, staff and volunteers are aware of the signs to look out for and how they can help survivors find protection and support”.
Pax Christi England and Wales, in collaboration with Christian CND, is planning events on Ash Wednesday on 2 March to challenge the immorality of nuclear weapons and the threat of nuclear warfare. Normally held outside London’s Ministry of Defence, this year the event will be an online national service of repentance and witness for peace at 7-8pm. On the day, Liverpool Pax Christi members are holding a noon service at St Luke’s “Bombed Out Church”. Coventry Pax Christi will be holding at 11am service on the steps of the cathedral ruins, followed at noon by the Coventry Reconciliation Litany and distribution of ashes in the ruins. In Scotland, the Glasgow Catholic Workers plan an Ash Wednesday afternoon liturgy of repentance and resistance at Faslane, the home of the UK's nuclear weapons. Peace groups are challenging the UK Government’s intention to maintain and increase the UK’s nuclear weapons and to disregard the UN Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty. Details and resources at https://paxchristi.org.uk/
The Scottish Bishops have restored the dispensation of Holy Water from this weekend. Parishioners will be allowed to bless themselves at stoups, provided they have sanitised hands first. Scottish parishes have already suspended contact tracing, except on a voluntary and parish-by-parish basis.
The Catholic confraternity, Hospitalité Notre Dame de Lourdes or the Hospitality of Our Lady of Lourdes, has appointed Irishwoman, Helen Foy, its first non-French Vice-President in its recent history. On the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the international association of volunteers, who serve in Lourdes welcoming the six million pilgrims who visit annually, especially the sick, appointed Foy as “Responsable” of the Notre Dame Service and Vice-President of HNDL. Helena Foy is a member of the leadership team of the Lourdes pilgrimage of the Diocese of Cloyne. She has been a hospitalier with HNDL for over 20 years. In 2014 she was appointed a Council member of the Notre Dame Service of Hospitalité Notre Dame de Lourdes. There are about 14,000 hospitaliers, the majority of whom are French and Italian. However, there are members from many countries. The HNDL structure incorporates a number of services including St Joseph, Notre Dame, St Michel, St Frai, St Jean Baptiste, and St Bernadette. The head of each of these is a Vice-President of HNDL.