Cardinal Vincent Nichols is urging Catholics to understand the forthcoming synod is neither “an ecclesiastical UN assembly, nor a Church parliament or convention, nor a referendum on the teaching of the Church”.
In a pastoral letter read out in parishes in the archdiocese of Westminster last weekend, he quoted Pope Francis’s description of the Synod in Rome as “a grace-filled event, a process of healing guided by the Holy Spirit.” The cardinal said the “overall aim” of the synod had been “clearly set out…how can we become a listening Church?”
An academic has detected marginalia she believes was written by the Venerable Bede in an eighth-century Bible. Michelle P Brown, former curator of illuminated manuscripts at the British Library, found the stylistic marks in a Bible now held in a Florence archive.
In 715, the Codex Amiatinus was brought to Rome from the monastery of Wearmouth-Jarrow in Northumbria. Brown found marginalia matching those in Bede’s other writings in the Codex’s preface to the Book of Kings. These include zig-zag lines resembling “lightning flashes” which Bede invented to indicate quotations. Brown’s findings appear in Bede and the Theory of Everything published on 1 October.
Ecumenical vespers are to be celebrated in St George's Cathedral, Southwark, to mark the tenth anniversary of the Romero Cross dedication in the cathedral’s shrine honouring St Oscar Romero, the martyred Archbishop of San Salvador.
Archbishop John Wilson of Southwark will preside and the emeritus Dean of Westminster Abbey, Very Rev Dr John Hall, will preach at the service on 28 September at 6pm. There is an invitation to all, laity and clergy, to come to the service and to the reception afterwards in the Amigo Hall next door.
The four-metre cross, painted by Salvadoran artist Fernando Llort, contains a fragment of Romero’s blood-stained alb and his zucchetto.
The Coptic Orthodox Diocese of London held a service on 11 September to mark the inauguration of its new diocesan hub, named The Sanctuary, at Saint Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe, in the heart of the City of London. It was conducted by Archbishop Angaelos, Coptic Orthodox Archbishop of London.
The Sanctuary will serve as a space in the heart of the City of London for ministries serving children, youth, students, seniors, and the homeless ministries. It will also be a place for ecumenical and interfaith relations and official engagements.
A message was read out from the King applauding the life and ministry of the Coptic Orthodox Church, especially in the areas of youth work, homelessness, and advocacy.
Another from Prime Minister Sunak said the new hub in the City of London “will undoubtedly enrich the lives of those who live and work in the area”. He added: “The Church’s teachings of love, acceptance, and service will undoubtedly resonate within the community”.
The Bishop of Paisley last week dedicated a new church for the parish of St Fergus. The ceremony took place on the Solemnity of St Mirin, whose mission in central Scotland was key to the evangelisation of the region.
In dedicating the third church the parish has occupied since 1950, Bishop John Keenan said: “Mirin’s little church and mission remain to this day a testimony as to how the Lord can take the morsel of bread of our faith that we entrust to His hands and multiply it a thousandfold, and how He can even pick up the scraps and move on to start out anew.”
The original church had been dedicated by Bishop James Black, the first bishop of the diocese. His later successor Bishop John Mone, who died in 2016, had commented that St Fergus parish reversed the usual order of things. Instead of creating the parish and then building a church, the community had built the church and then set about creating the parish. That process was now advanced by the opening of a new building.
Archbishop Eamon Martin has expressed concern over pollution in the UK’s largest freshwater lake which has been poisoned by toxic algae. Visting Lough Neagh in Ulster which provides 40 per cent of Northern Ireland’s drinking water, Archbishop Martin appealed to people to work together in partnership for “this amazing natural resource”.
“We need to be responsible stewards of God’s Creation,” he said. The archbishop met members of the Lough Neagh Partnership and listened to their concerns over the fragility of the lake’s ecosystem and the implications for public health.
The relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis visited Knock Shrine, St Eugene’s Cathedral in Derry as well as Sligo and Newry as part of a pilgrimage to all 26 dioceses on the island of Ireland. In June the relic travelled from the Sanctuary of the Renunciation, Assisi, to the Archdiocese of Armagh and Down and Connor Diocese.
Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino of Assisi accompanied the relic. He said he was happy that the relic had visited four more dioceses in Ireland and he was convinced “that devotion to this young man, who lived according to the Gospel, is an example and a help to the Church and to the many young people who are seeking … to grasp the beauty of faith.”
FaithInvest’s new chief executive, Dr Lorna Gold, has called for a radical reassessment of the values underpinning economic decisions.
In her first week in the role, Dr Gold said people need to recognise that the prevailing vision of the economy has become impoverished and narrow. She said alternative perspectives on economic life which are the antithesis of consumer-based market economics need to be embraced such as care, gift, sacrifice, frugality, creativity and sharing.
“We need an economy more attuned to the planet and human well-being – one that will unleash the power of faith as a dynamic force for good,” she said.
The Three Faiths Forum in Cork is formally launching an exhibition on Culture Night showcasing works by artists belonging to Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The exhibition is intended to enhance tolerance, cooperation and friendship in Irish society.
“Connecting Through Art” is taking place at Carrigaline Library until the end of September. The Revd Tony Murphy of the Church of Ireland, chair of the Three Faiths Forum Cork, explained that it was founded in 2016 to create a space where people of faith can dialogue openly and respectfully and come to a better understanding of each other’s faith.
“Ireland, as we are painfully aware, is not without racism, Islamophobia or anti Semitism,” he said.
A 19-year-old woman who wished to go abroad for experimental treatment in the hope that it might save her life has died in hospital. The woman, who was subject to a Court of Protection order and can only be referred to as ST, died from cardiac arrest.
Unlike in most such cases, ST was conscious, able to speak and had instructed her own lawyers to argue that she should be kept alive and be allowed to go to Canada for experimental treatment.
She had mitochondrial depletion syndrome, a degenerative condition and the same illness as Charlie Gard, the baby whose life support was withdrawn following a court battle in 2017. She was admitted to hospital after her condition worsened when she contracted Covid-19 last year.
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