King Charles III spoke out about his determination to “protect the diversity of our country” at a reception at Buckingham Palace where Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols was among those present. Afterwards he said: “In my conversation with him, I assured him that Catholics had continued in heartfelt prayer for his mother.” Cardinal Nichols and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby earlier joined the chaplaincy faith team walking alongside the queue of those waiting to pay their respects to the late Queen at the Lying in State in the Palace of Westminster.
Cardinal Vincent Nichols delivered the homily at the divine liturgy at London’s Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Holy Family on 14 September, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The Catholic Church across Europe marked the feast, which is particularly celebrated by the Eastern Church, with prayers for peace in Ukraine. Cardinal Nichols prayed “that the saving love of Christ may convert the hearts of those who inflict suffering” and that the love of Christ shown on the Cross “may sustain the Ukrainian people”.
In his message for World Day of Migrants and Refugees on Sunday, Bishop Paul McAleenan, lead bishop for migrants and refugees, urged to remember and pray for those who are displaced through war, poverty and persecution. He also said migration offers opportunities for many people. “In our parishes and in our neighbourhoods, we can see that migration is a reality. There are many people from other countries. Pope Francis appeals to us to adopt an attitude of welcome to those who live among us, reminding us that they can revitalise our communities and enliven celebrations in our parishes. Their presence is a witness to the Catholicity of God’s people. Without undermining or devaluing our own culture and values, we are asked to be open to the treasure and the variety of gifts that migrants and refugees bring to our communities.”
The monks of Douai Abbey have celebrated the blessing of Father Paul Gunter OSB as their new abbot. Abbot Paul received the abbatial blessing from Bishop Egan of Portsmouth, accompanied by 12 bishops and archbishops, together with the Abbot President of the English Benedictine Congregation and 13 abbots, on Thursday September 8. In his homily, Bishop Marcus Stock of Leeds highlighted the Rule of Saint Benedict as the immediate “spiritual foundation” for guiding the brethren; the ring as a sign of constancy in loving kindness; and the pastoral staff for the sacrificial love required of any shepherd of a Christian flock. In a similar vein, the new abbot has taken as his motto convertat ut benignitas, “may he convert by kindness”. Abbot Paul Gunter, 56, from Wolverhampton, entered Douai Abbey in 1985. After serving for some years on some of the monastery’s parishes he was sent to Rome in 2002 for higher studies in liturgy at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute, where he was awarded a doctorate in 2006. He returned to become parish priest of Alcester in Warwickshire. In 2012 he was appointed Secretary to the Department of Christian Life and Worship of the English and Welsh bishops’ conference, in which role he continues to serve, and was elected the eleventh abbot of Douai on 11 May 2022, succeeding Abbot Geoffrey Scott who retired after 24 years.
The Archbishop of Liverpool, Malcolm McMahon OP, spoke at the funeral of the nine-year-old Olivia Pratt-Korbel on 15 September, saying that she, “like all children, is a beautiful work of art loved into being by God”. Members of the local community and pupil’s from Olivia’s school attended the funeral Mass at St Margaret Mary’s Church in Knotty Ash, Liverpool. She was killed by a gunman who burst into her home in pursuit of another man. Archbishop McMahon said it was important to continue to think of Olivia: “As we continually remember her by name we put back together the broken pieces of our lives – broken by this sudden intrusion into a family living in peace.”
The Diocese of Westminster Justice and Peace Commission and the London Catholic Worker postponed the regular prayer vigil outside the Home Office to 26 September, after the original date 19 September was declared a bank holiday for the Queen’s funeral. The new date is the day after the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which this year takes the theme “Building the Future with Migrants and Refugees”. Bishop Paul McAleenan, the lead on migrants and refugees for the bishops of England and Wales, issued a prayer for the day, asking God to “make us instruments of your justice, so that where there is exclusion, fraternity may flourish, and where there is greed, a spirit of sharing may grow”.
Christian CND will continue its campaign against nuclear weapons at its Annual General Meeting on 1 October in Liverpool in person and on Zoom. Dr Becky Alexis-Martin, a lecturer in Human Geography at Manchester Metropolitan University, will speak about her research into nuclear-related issues around the globe. This includes the experience of those who have been victims of nuclear weapons, as well as those suffering as a result of the UK’s nuclear tests in the Pacific. Local activists will speak about their campaigning activity in the North-West and Christian CND nationally about its offer of free workshops for churches, small groups and youth groups around nuclear disarmament and peace activism.
Four Dominicans took perpetual vows in a ceremony in Dublin last weekend. The former lawyer, two doctors and a physicist are all preparing for priestly ordination. The previous week, Bishop Tom Deenihan of Meath ordained Dominican friars, Anthony Kavanagh and Kellan Scott as priests. Fr Scott will complete his studies at San Clemente in Rome, while Fr Kavanagh has been appointed chaplain at the Dominican secondary school, Newbridge College. The order also welcomed three new novices last week. Separately, the Diocese of Cork and Ross ordained Fr Ronan Sheehan on Sunday. It is the first ordination for the diocese since 2017. Speaking after the ceremony, 27-year-old Fr Sheehan told the Irish Examiner newspaper that he dreamt of “a Church that is welcoming and that is inclusive, and that gets better at communicating that message”.
Scotland’s Catholic Church is urging the Scottish Parliament to reject proposed legislation allowing assisted suicide for terminally-ill people. Liam McArthur, a member of the Scottish Parliament, presented the final proposal for his Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults Bill on 8 September, which prompted a strongly worded response from Anthony Horan, director of the Catholic Parliamentary Office in Scotland. He described the proposal as “dangerous” and warned: “It will make the most vulnerable people, including the elderly and disabled, feel like a burden.” He said the current law is the safeguard and that “we should be caring for people, not killing them”. He pointed out that a letter signed by 175 health care professionals, “outlined numerous concerns”. A previous attempt to legalise assisted suicide in Scotland was defeated in the Scottish Parliament in 2015.
The BBC has apologised after commentators laughed about Catholics being “cleared out of Scotland” during live coverage of the royal hearse travelling from Balmoral to Edinburgh on 11 September. With the Queen's coffin due to rest at St Giles' Cathedral, one BBC presenter mentioned John Knox, the radical Protestant minister during the Scottish Reformation. A guest contributor then said: “John Knox of course being your great Scottish Protestant reformer, who cleared the Catholics out of Scotland.” There was laughter from several presenters. Some 269 complaints were received citing a “disrespectful level of commentary”. Chris McEleny, general secretary of the Alba Party, submitted a complaint and has now received an apology from the BBCT
The Archbishop of Birmingham, Bernard Longley, joined the Anglican Bishop of Coventry, Christopher Cocksworth, for an ecumenical choral service at Coventry Cathedral on 21 September, the International Day of Peace instituted by the United Nations. The service was organised by the Friends of the Holy Land, the cross-denominational charity for Christians in Israel, Gaza, Jordan and the West Bank and the prayers were particularly directed to peace and reconciliation in that region. The late Bruce Kent, the distinguished peace campaigner, had this year called on the Catholic Church officially to the day of peace which the UN established in 1981 as a 24-hour worldwide ceasefire.
A spokesman for the Association of Catholic Priests in Ireland has expressed his “dismay and disbelief” over a recent discussion by Cloyne Council of Priests of the National Synodal Synthesis submitted by the Irish Church to the Vatican. Writing on the Association of Catholic Priests’ website, Fr Tim Hazelwood, who serves in Cloyne Diocese, said minutes of the Council of Priests discussion noted the limitations of the synodal process and said that many Catholics had not engaged with the process, the final report seemed to focus on the “provocative parts” and few priests had engaged with the process. According to Fr Hazelwood, the minutes of the meeting suggested that care should be taken not to alienate faithful Catholics. “In other words, do nothing. It seemed to me that there was no appetite for listening, no willingness to learn. If the minutes are correctly reported there was no positive dissenting voice in support of the process,” Fr Hazelwood said.
Six hundred families and individuals, including 800 children, have come forward to Crosscare’s Food Poverty Service seeking help with food supplies. Many of those are presenting for the first time and most say they are struggling with the rising cost of living and are falling into debt. To meet demand, staff at the service has tripled. Last year, Crosscare’s Homeless Prevention Service supported over 2,000 families and individuals who were homeless or at imminent risk of losing their current accommodation. Demand for this service has also increased, with those accessing it citing loss of employment, reduced work hours, rising costs, illness, and family breakdown.
The relics of St Bernadette visited the Catholic and Anglican cathedrals of Liverpool last week, entering the former, the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King in a torchlit procession organised by the archdiocese. The relics, which left Liverpool Tuesday 20 September, will now visit the cathedrals of the Diocese of Salford, the Diocese of Lancaster and the Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Great Britain, before continuing on to Scotland's Carfin Grotto. The relics, which arrived in the country at the beginning of September, will continue their tour till the end of November. Full dates, prayer resources and more can be found on the visit’s website: www.stbernadette.org.uk.
The first new Catholic primary school for more than a decade in the Peterborough diocese opened earlier this month. Last week, September 14, the school, St John Henry Newman Catholic Primary School and Nursery, in Hampton Water, Peterborough, was visited and blessed by the ordinary of the local Diocese, Bishop Alan Hopes of East Anglia. More than 50 children are already enrolled in the school, which, once full, will be the biggest Catholic primary school in East Anglia with 630 pupils.
Loading ...
