The Anscombe Bioethics Centre has called on health secretary Steve Barclay “to act urgently” to arrange for a review into the case of Archie Battersbee, who died last Saturday after his life support treatment was withdrawn. The centre said his death “will be made all the harder to bear for Archie’s parents as it results from the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment against their strenuous objections”. The decision came after four hearings in the High Court, two in the Appeals Court, two decisions by the Supreme Court, one by the European Court of Human Rights and an intervention by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Anscombe Bioethics said: “This is surely a Pyrrhic victory. No one wins when decisions are made in a way that increases the distress of those who will feel the loss most deeply. The court battle over Archie Battersbee’s care is the latest example of the dying of children becoming complicated by unresolved conflict between parents and hospital authorities. It seems clear that there are serious problems with the current clinical, interpersonal, ethical, and legal approach to these situations.” After the High Court decision ruling that 12-year-old Archie Battersbee could not be moved to a hospice for withdrawal of treatment, Bishop John Sherrington, lead bishop for life issues, said the case had highlighted again “the need to find better ways of mediation by which parents and health care professionals can reach common agreements and avoid complex legal proceedings”. Whilst the Catholic Church recognises that there are situations when medical treatment to sustain life is no longer obligatory if there is no hope of recovery, ordinary treatment and care should be provided appropriate to the condition of the patient.” Archie died last Saturday after his life support was withdrawn. The Anscombe Bioethics Centre, which has drawn attention to the place in English law for the role and responsibilities of parents in such cases as well as to issues in clinical practice in relation to the dignity of people with profound disabilities, said: “The court battle over Archie Battersbee’s care is the latest example of the dying of children becoming complicated by unresolved conflict between parents and hospital authorities. It seems clear that there are serious problems with the current clinical, interpersonal, ethical, and legal approach to these situations.”
A rare tenth century St Edmund memorial penny, worn by a Viking to advertise his Christianity – which they had converted to in Britain – has been found by a metal detectorist in Norfolk. It is thought the AD890-915 silver coin had been hammered into a pendant so the Viking could wear it around his neck. It was found at Congham, near King's Lynn, and has been declared a treasure. Norwich Castle Museum hopes to acquire the penny. The Anglo-Saxon King Edmund was killed by the Vikings in AD869 and made a saint shortly afterwards. His body was laid to rest at Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. Within several generations the pagan Vikings went from killing Edmund to striking coins in his name to wear as Christian converts. "St Edmund memorial pennies were struck by Vikings who had become Christians so the wearer could advertise his Christianity," says Adrian Marsden, from the Norfolk County Council Historic Environment Service. "In the AD910s, around the time this coin was struck,” he recounts, “you've got King Edward the Elder, son of Alfred the Great, moving east and north to reconquer East Anglia, which the Vikings held since they did-in King Edmund.”
The popular Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester in the US is to speak on the role of the laity in evangelisation at a conference titled “Sharing the Church’s Story” at a national evangelisation conference at Friends House, Euston on 17 September. Bishop Barron, a bestselling author with more than three million followers on Facebook, is also speaking at an event in Parliament on “what Christianity brings to the public conversation” and celebrating Mass at Westminster Cathedral. His UK visit, from 11 to 18 September, is being organised by Catholic Voices in collaboration with Word on Fire, the institute founded by Bishop Barron. He said: “I am delighted to be coming to the UK this September. My purpose, as always, will be to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus. Secularism is on the rise in the West, and its influence is strongly felt in Great Britain. But yours is a land of faith, marked by the witness of many great saints and martyrs. I so look forward to meeting you, to hearing what is on your minds and hearts, and to encourage you in your relationship with the Lord.”
Anglican bishops at the Lambeth Conference joined Christian Climate Action protestors to urge the Anglican Church to take a firmer stand against the climate crisis. The bishops from across the globe left Canterbury to spend the day at at Lambeth Palace in London where some joined the symbolic act to mark a collective commitment to act on climate change. The protestors, including a number of Anglican clergy, gathered outside and said prayers. Many of the bishops who joined in were from areas deeply affected by the climate crisis, such as Bangladesh and Sub-Saharan Africa. Archbishop Moses Deng of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, South Sudan, said: “Care of environment is one of the Anglican five marks of mission.” Also there were Fr Dominic Robinson and Colette Joyce of Westminster Catholic Archdiocese Justice and Peace. The protestors were calling on the Anglican Communion, especially those in the global north, to use its moral voice to speak out on the climate emergency as an issue of racial justice. They were also calling on the Church of England to divest the funds that it currently has invested in fossil fuels and to sign up to the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. Members of the Young Christian Climate Network (YCCN) urged in a statement that the Church of England, “sever all remaining financial ties with fossil fuel companies”. The YCCN was supported by Green Christian, Operation Noah and the Student Christian Movement.
Chaplaincy outreach helped support the Commonwealth Games that drew hundreds of thousands to Birmingham between 28 July and 8 August. Before the Games started a praise service organised by Birmingham Churches Together took place at St Chad’s Catholic Cathedral on 24 July to mark the opening of the games. The service, was organised by Monsignor Tim Menezes, Dean of St Chad’s Cathedral, Dr Beverly Lindsay, of the Association of Jamaican Nationals UK, Laurence Sharman, executive director of the World Prayer Centre, and Robert Mountford, of Birmingham Churches Together. The World Prayer Centre, a global house of prayer based in Birmingham, hosted a service at Gas Street Church praying for and blessing the Commonwealth nations. At the service, the Centre's Sharman prayed for Birmingham to be a blessing to all comers. Birmingham Archdiocese provided lists of Catholic churches within the vicinity of the region’s Commonwealth Games venues. Other Churches and Christian organisations also provided chaplaincy support and prayer. Many were also involved in supporting the anti-human-trafficking campaign, ‘It’s A Penalty’, which educates people and aims to prevent exploitation. Burn 24-7, a global worship prayer and missions ministry, coordinated 336 hours of prayer and worship with outreach for the duration of the Games, based at Elim Life Church.
The ecumenical charity Christians Aware held its recent 2022 Summer School at Parcevall Hall in the Yorkshire Dales with the theme: “The legacy of Yorkshire monasticism”. Barbara Butler, executive secretary, said: “The legacy of Yorkshire monasticism is rich and varied and by the end of the week our list of what our society has received from the monasteries was long and challenging.” Author Gervase Phinn spoke about education being the greatest gift we have received from the monasteries. Steven Skinner introduced the benefits of achieving monastic balance and harmony. John Bennett talked about our rich inheritance from the Franciscans, including the Christmas crib, the valuing of children and young people and love of the poor. Farming is a major legacy. Brothers Stephen and John Dawson, a parish priest and a farmer, spoke of keeping the rural communities alive by drawing them into lively and committed parishes and by environmentally-friendly farming. Mary Lewis spoke on early monasteries in the Hebrides.
Fifty rare items are currently on display at an exhibition in the British Library exploring how the precious metal gold has transformed art in manuscripts, paintings and books. The exhibition “Gold” runs until 2 October. One item is the Queen Mary Psalter which contains more than 1000 images, many with intricate gold illustrations. Penned in gold ink are gospels from the age of Charlemagne, letters from King James II and decrees of Mughal Emperor Shah Alam II. Portraits from Constantinople and illustrations in The Golden Haggadeh are set on backgrounds of gold leaf. The exhibition, assembled from 20 countries, shows how gold elevated art in manuscripts and books and the painstaking techniques used to handle such a precious metal.
Up to 8,000 pilgrims are expected to take part each day in this year’s National Novena at Knock Shrine, which returns to its traditional format for the first time since 2019 following a three-year break due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The theme this year is ‘A Journey in Hope’. The novena runs from Sunday 14 August until Monday 22 August and offers nine days of reflection and prayer as well as a chance to hear contributions from number of guest speakers. A unique feature of this year’s novena is a “synod tent”, where members of the public will be invited to learn more about the universal synod and the Irish Synodal Pathway. According to organisers it will provide pilgrims with an opportunity to listen to the ideas of others and hear what the Church in Ireland has to offer at this critical juncture. Ahead of the novena, Knock parish priest and Rector of the Shrine, Fr Richard Gibbons said: “So many of the people who joined us online over the course of the pandemic are now coming back to visit the Shrine which is great to see.”
A pilgrim centre is to open in the Parish of Ballintubber and Ballymoe in Co Roscommon to promote greater awareness of the life and work of Fr Edward Flanagan, whose cause for beatification is under consideration. The centre is an initiative between the parish, the Diocese of Elphin and the Fr Flanagan League in Omaha, Nebraska in the US. Fr Flanagan was a social reformer and founder of the world-renowned “Boys Town” in Omaha which championed better care for children. Today Boys Town helps nearly two million vulnerable children every year in the US. Fr Flanagan emigrated from Ballymoe to the US with his sister in 1904. He was ordained to the priesthood on in 1912. His life story was made famous by the Hollywood film Boys Town starring Spencer Tracey and Mickey Rooney in 1938, for which Tracey won an Oscar for his portrayal of Fr Flanagan. On a return visit to Ireland in 1946, Fr Flanagan strongly condemned the treatment of children in Irish industrial schools.
Bishop Steven Raica of Birmingham, Alabama will celebrate Mass this week to commemorate Irish priest, Fr James Coyle, who was murdered by a member of the Ku Klux Klan in 1921. The Mass at the Cathedral of St Paul in Alabama coincides with the airing of a new PBS documentary, ‘Father James Coyle - Life and Legacy’ by EWTN. Born in Co Roscommon, Fr Coyle was ordained in Rome in 1896 and moved to the US to serve in Alabama, where a growing Catholic population faced local hostility. Fr Coyle stood up for his Catholic parishioners and wrote letters to newspapers condemning those who sought to deprive Catholics of their basic human rights. This resulted in death threats and plots to burn the priest’s church down. He was shot dead by Edwin Stephenson, a Klansman and local Methodist minister, just hours after he had married Stephenson’s daughter to a Puerto Rican. Stephenson pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and was acquitted by a single vote. Both the judge and jury foreman were Klan members.
An exhibition marking the life and legacy of Bishop Edward Daly has opened at St Eugene’s Cathedral Hall in Derry city. One of the most enduring images of the Troubles is a photograph of Bishop Daly in January 1972 waving a blood-stained handkerchief as he attempted to lead a group carrying one of the Bloody Sunday victims out of the Bogside in Derry. “A man for All Seasons” honours the bishop who highlighted miscarriages of justice and was involved in efforts to end the IRA hunger strikes in 1981. Bishop Daly retired in 1993 on health grounds. In his memoirs he called for an end to compulsory celibacy to help address the drop in vocations to the priesthood. At the official opening of the exhibition, curator Grainne McCafferty told guests that Bishop Daly, who died in 2016, “gave hope in difficult times and lit a candle in the darkness”.
The Bishop of Paisley has said that the catastrophic rate of drug deaths in Scotland cannot be halted by politicians alone. Responding to new that 1330 people died of drug overdoses and other related causes last year, Bishop John Keenan urged Scotland’s Catholics “to engage with this issue: to pray, to understand, to have compassion, to volunteer and to become part of the solution”. He said that the situation “now calls for the concern of the whole community”. Recently released data on drug deaths in Scotland which mark only a tiny decrease of nine on last year’s figure but remain the second highest on record and the worst in Europe, sparked protests by family groups, activists and survivors at Holyrood and calls for support of a Right To Recovery Bill, which would ensure that addicts and others affected by substance abuse were offered a chance of recovery and rehabilitation. At present, the unemployed and low-income families are both more likely to fall into misuse of prescription and street drugs and less likely to receive meaningful support and treatment. BM
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