British Jesuits held a peaceful vigil at the Indian High Commission in Aldwych marking the second anniversary of the death of Father Stan Swamy SJ who died aged 84 of Covid-19 in July 2021 after spending seven months in prison in India. An attempt to hand in a petition containing thousands of signatures calling for justice for Father Swamy was unsuccessful when commission staff did not open the door or accept the petition. Fr Swamy, who was suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, was the oldest person to be accused of terrorism in India. He was imprisoned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for crimes against the government of India and supposed involvement in violence surrounding the 2018 Bhima Koregaon protests. While in custody, prison authorities were criticised for denying him access to basic amenities such as a straw and sipper, which he needed to drink water because of hand tremors.
Archbishop of Glasgow William Nolan was among faith leaders who attended a faith vigil at Scotland’s Faslane Naval Base in Scotland last Saturday in protest the presence of the Britain’s nuclear weapons. Joining him at the event, organised by Scottish Christians Against Nuclear Arms (SCANA), was Revd Sally Foster-Fulton, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and representatives of Justice and Peace Scotland. “It would make sense for the nuclear weapons’ states to get rid of these weapons,” said Archbishop Nolan. “Countries are supposed to be working for a nuclear free world, but we are increasing our stock of nuclear weapons. Faslane here is being expanded.” The following day Archbishop Nolan supported a gathering at a rainy Dungavel detention centre marking Refugee Week 2023. He spoke in support of migrants detained there, saying, “There is nothing illegal about moving to escape war and famine and climate change and find a better future.”
The theme of this year’s Christians Aware summer conference in Yorkshire is “building biodiversity”. The event 23-28 July will be held at Parcevall Hall in the Yorkshire Dales, with its magnificent gardens, and include visits to a Dales farm and to the conservation area which inspired Charles Kingsley’s Water Babies. Christians Aware is an ecumenical educational charity working to develop multicultural and interfaith understanding and friendship locally, nationally and internationally. Organiser Barbara Butler said: “Our commitment at this summer school is to building biodiversity and we will work as a community during the week, sharing worship, bible study and discussion.”
The Pro Life Campaign has said calls to liberalise Ireland’s abortion legislation so women won’t have to travel to Britain for abortions have been undermined by the fact that fewer than 2 per cent of the 9,046 Irish abortions in 2022 were carried out in England and Wales. The campaign said the latest figures from the Irish Department of Health show the abortion rate has “soared” beyond “any reasonable expectations”, with only a small fraction of the total number of Irish abortions are being performed in England. “The majority are happening at home,” the group said. Responding to the figures, the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, said he would like to see a reduction in the number of abortions taking place in Ireland.
Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell is setting up a project group to study a proposal for a properly-designated cathedral in Dublin. In a statement, he said the move followed consultations with the Council of Priests in the diocese. The group will evaluate whether to upgrade St Andrew’s Church on Westland Row as Dublin’s cathedral and designate St Mary’s Pro Cathedral, which was built 200 years ago, as a basilica. The Archbishop believes having a cathedral in the commercial and cultural heart of the city could provide a focal point for mission and encounter with the wider community and act as an outreach to those who have no established links with an individual parish.
The relics of Saint Thomas Becket will be on display at Northampton Cathedral during the Becket Festival from 7-9 July. The weekend will begin with Mass to celebrate the Translation of the relics on Friday morning. The Mass will be celebrated by the new Apostolic Nuncio to Great Britain, Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendia. When Thomas Becket was murdered on 29 December 1170 he was buried in haste in the crypt of the Canterbury cathedral. Due to the large number of pilgrims, plans were made to move his body to the upper church. However, a fire broke out and tensions between the monks, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the King and the Pope meant it was not until 1215 that plans could be drawn up for the translation. The translation of the relics eventually took place in 1220.
Bernard Longley, the Archbishop of Birmingham, gave the formal grace at a dinner marking the Oxford Union’s two hundredth anniversary last week. According to the Times, Longley, treasurer of the debating society in 1977, said grace at a dinner in Oxford Town Hall on Saturday 24 June. Guests at the dinner included Theresa May and Tony Abbott, past prime ministers of the United Kingdom and Australia respectively, and speakers paid tribute to past and present committee members of the Union, which has a reputation as a training-ground for future politicians.
The Medaille Trust last week opened a new wing in its Merseyside Safe House for victims of modern slavery. The extension to the centre, formally opened by Archbishop of Liverpool Malcolm McMahon, includes eight rooms, bringing the total potential population of the safe house to 18. The Medaille Trust, a registered charity founded by several Catholic Congregations in 2006, operates ten safe houses for the victims of human trafficking and modern slavery across the UK. The Liverpool house is currently fundraising for £400,000 to provide those staying there with a counselling room, a sports and recreation room, and a multi-faith prayer room.
Catholic Bishops joined other faith leaders in a weekend of prayer calling for the extension of free school meals to all primary school students in England. Held from the 23 to 25 of June, the weekend, participated in by Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Catholic and other Christian leaders, was held in support of the National Education Union's No Child Left Behind campaign. This campaign calls for the UK government to match the commitments of the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales, which have both pledged to provide free meals for all primary school children. At present, free school meals are universal in the first three years of school, and subject to strict eligibility criteria from then. Bishop of Salford John Arnold told The Tablet, “Life is getting harder for the families we support in Salford and I know that hunger in the classroom is a concern shared by colleagues across the UK. Action by the Government to extend Free School Meals to all primary school children would help many more children to thrive. Low wages, high prices and unaffordable energy bills mean parents who were coping before are now really struggling. Support from the Government to extend Free School Meals to all Primary School children would make all the difference for some families.”
The Church of England’s Church Commissioners and Pensions Board announced on 22 June that they will divest from all oil and gas companies for failing to align with the goals of the 2005 Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The previous week, more than 200 Church of England clergy, including 10 bishops, sent an open letter to the Church Commissioners and Pensions Board, demanding a fossil-free pension in light of the “deeply unethical” activities of the fossil fuel companies. Pressure on the Church of England to divest from fossil fuel companies has been building over recent years as increasing numbers of Church of England dioceses – which each have their own investments – have made divestment commitments. More than half of the 42 Church of England dioceses have now pledged to exclude fossil fuel investments. Operation Noah, the leading Christian divestment charity in the UK, said: “Investor engagement has worked in other sectors, but it has never really worked with fossil fuel companies, and we trust that today’s announcement by the Church of England will encourage many others to divest from fossil fuels and invest in climate solutions.”
The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England has agreed a“reset” of the Independent Safeguarding Board after working relationships with the board broke down, the council said in a statement. “This will involve ending the contracts of two of the members of the Board, Jasvinder Sanghera and Steve Reeves, and of the acting chair, Meg Munn,” the council said. It had been widely reported that there has been a dispute between two members of the board and the council. The council said, “Members of the Council and our experienced safeguarding professionals have been working constructively over recent months to put the ISB on a more sustainable footing. Nevertheless, it has now become clear that that this is no longer viable with its current membership and that the dispute itself risks getting in the way of that urgent priority of moving to the next phase of establishing a new independent safeguarding body.”
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