An auxiliary Bishop of Westminster has been named as chair of the Holy Land Coordination, a group of Catholic Bishops from across Europe, North America and South Africa who work to visit and support Christian communities in the Holy Land. Bishop Nicholas Hudson, a long-term bishop delegate to the group and auxiliary Bishop of Westminster since 2014, was named chair of the coordination on Saturday 16 July, succeeding Clifton Bishop Declan Lang, who stood down in May. The Holy Land Coordination organises annual visits to Israel and Palestine. This year’s pilgrimage say Bishops offer their personal condolences to the family of Christian Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Aqleh, shot dead by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank 11 May this year.
The Archdiocese of Birmingham will host an ecumenical “service of praise” this Sunday 24 July, marking the beginning of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. Archbishop Bernard Longley will introduce the service, which will include, according to the Archdiocese, “a worship band, the Birmingham City Council Workplace Choir and children from Sacred Heart Primary School.” The pentecostal Bishop Mike Royal, General Secretary of Churches Together in England, will be the speaker. Dignitaries including the Lord Lieutenant of the West Midlands, the Lord Mayor of Birmingham and the High Sheriff of the West Midlands, former athlete David Moorcroft, will attend the service, held at St Chad’s Cathedral at 3pm on Sunday 24 July.
The High Court has ruled that Archie Battersbee’s life support is to be turned off, frustrating the child’s parents and Catholic bioethics campaigners who argue that the evidence is not strong enough to justify a declaration of death. A previous judge ruled that Archie was medically dead, a judgement the latest ruling concurred with. Doctors at the Royal London Hospital have recommended Batterbee’s life support be turned off in light of a diagnosis that the 12-year old, who has been comatose since an accident on April 7 this year, had suffered “brain stem death”. Archies parent’s, Hollie Dance and Paul Battersbee, took the case to court and intend to continue fighting for a legal reprieve. The Anscombe Bioethics Centre, a Catholic organisation, criticised the decision, saying in a statement “It seems extraordinary that questions of life and death should be matters of a balance of probability rather than determination beyond reasonable doubt.”
A co-founder of the Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland has warned that a smaller number of parishioners are now bearing the brunt of the cost of sustaining parish services and are increasingly less tolerant of those who “expect all the services” from parishes, such as weddings, baptisms and communions, but “contribute nothing to paying for them”. Writing in his weekly column in the Western People, Fr Brendan Hoban warned that a “dire financial emergency” now faces many of the country’s parishes. He described the financial crisis as the elephant in the Church’s living room. While congregations and collections have been declining for some years, this particular crisis was ushered in by the Covid outbreak and the long church closures it necessitated, which resulted in a lack of church collections. “Usually, parishes are run on a shoe-string budget and there are not many areas that allow for cutbacks. Parish buildings have to be maintained, insured and heated. The salaries of parish personnel have to be met.” He suggested that the only comeback would be to introduce “an enhanced set of parish charges for funerals, weddings, and baptisms on the basis that those who don’t contribute to the provision of services can hardly expect those who do, to pay for them”.
Hospitality is an attitude towards people and a human virtue, Bishop Kevin Doran has said. Speaking on the theme of hospitality, he paid tribute to those who have adopted children, cared for a sick mother-in-law, opened their homes to refugees, or welcomed strangers at their table. In the Word of God, he said, we are being invited to see hospitality as a virtue and are encouraged to practice it. He acknowledged that hospitality could present real challenges. “We talk a lot about the hospitality sector and the hospitality industry, but I think we need to be reminded at times, that whether it is your life’s work or something you do on a purely personal level, hospitality is first and foremost an attitude towards people.” In a world where we all seem to be time poor, the Bishop of Elphin said: “It is a real gift to others that we make them welcome and spend time with them, not always looking at the clock. You never really know how important that gift is, especially when somebody might be lonely, or a stranger, or in trouble of some kind.”
Bishop Fintan Monahan has announced the first appointments to the role of ministry of pastoral care and ministry of catechist, two new lay ministries introduced in response to the steady decline of priest numbers. The new ministers will work alongside priests and people in parishes and pastoral areas across the Diocese of Killaloe. The ministry of pastoral care will include visiting those who are ill or elderly at home or in nursing homes. It will also involve care for those who are isolated or on their own in the community. The ministers will also offer care to those who are bereaved and help families in preparing funeral liturgies. The focus of the ministry of catechist is to help people in their faith development. The appointments take effect at the end of August for three years.
Around 160 justice and peace activists from around England and Wales will attend their 44th annual gathering next weekend in Derbyshire, focusing on the theme: “Hope! a verb with its sleeves rolled up”. The National Justice and Peace Network of England and Wales hopes the conference at Swanwick 22-24 July will look at ways of building a hopeful and sustainable future.
A 25-year-old man has admitted setting the fire that destroyed a Glasgow church a year ago. Ryan Haggerty will be sentenced next month after pleading guilty to the arson of St Simon’s Church in Partick, said to be the third oldest in the Glasgow Archdiocese. No motive for the attack has been established, but Haggerty was apparently homeless and on drugs at the time of the attack. He was witnessed close to the fire, apparently covered in soot, but denied involvement at the time. It is not yet know whether St Simon’s, which has served the Polish community in Glasgow in recent years, can be rebuilt. According to the prosecution, the cost of the blaze was in the millions. Glasgow Archdiocese has made no statement yet about St Simon’s future.
A pilot scheme being run by Pact to provide more support to mothers in prison is yielding significant benefits, according to an interim evaluation published last week by the University of Cardiff. The pilot, called “Together a Chance”, has placed social workers in two women’s prisons, HMPs Send and Eastwood Park. Their role is to improve outcomes for mothers in custody and their children. The scheme aims to empower women to maintain links and engage with their children. Their work complements that of their local authority counterparts in safeguarding the best interests of the child, while also providing vital support for mothers, many of whom have been victims of violence and domestic abuse. According to the findings, unveiled at an event last week at the House of Lords, the pilot is beginning to demonstrate that mothers can continue to play a role in their children’s lives and be involved in decisions relating to their welfare, where it is in the best interests of the children.
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