Nichols salutes the family
At a Mass to celebrate over 25,000 years of marriage last Saturday Cardinal Vincent Nichols (above) told 700 Catholic couples that the family is the engine of history. Speaking at the ninth annual Mass of thanksgiving for the Sacrament of Matrimony, he said this was exemplified by the findings of the Hillsborough enquiry, which, 27 years after the tragedy, had finally established what happened “on that dreadful day”.
Cardinal Nichols told the congregation at Westminster Cathedral that the enquiry had implicated the police, the judiciary, the media and other branches of the establishment – but the family came out with great credit.
“Families fought, tenaciously, for 27 years, never giving up, never resting until their voices were heard and the truth had been told,” he said. “This is an example of the family being the engine of history: making, reshaping history out of love for and commitment to each other.”
Meanwhile, an Anglican bishop who campaigned for justice for Hillsborough victims is to be awarded the Freedom of Liverpool. The Rt Revd James Jones, former Bishop of Liverpool, headed the Government-appointed panel whose report quashed the original inquest verdicts into the deaths of the 96 victims. Former Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish is also among those to receive the honour.
Church welfare projects increase
A report by the Church of England has found that the number of churches running social action projects with the support of the Church Urban Fund (CUF) increased by 40 per cent in a year. Last year, more than 500 churches ran projects such as foodbanks, night shelters and cookery courses for people in food poverty, compared with 350 in 2014.
“Changing Lives and Communities Together” assessed the impact of the CUF, which was established by the Church of England to support community action on a local level during 2015. Canon Paul Hackwood, executive chair of CUF, said the report showed that social action was part of the fabric of the Church of England. “Research shows that 10 million adults in England rely on social action projects provided from churches – a staggering figure,” he said.
Papal preacher at pre-Pentecost event
Fr Raniero Cantalamessa OFM Cap, the preacher to the papal household, addressed some 100 priests at a pre-Pentecost retreat in West Sussex last week. He gave the keynote speech at the retreat, which was co-sponsored by Redemptorist Publications, and opened by the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, Richard Moth, and closed by the Archbishop of Southwark, Peter Smith.
Corruption pledges welcomed
The Church aid agency Cafod said that the Anti-Corruption Summit held last week in London showed there was a clear need to deliver “concrete, far-reaching changes to end corruption”. Reflecting on the meeting, Cafod called on governments to address “opaque company structures” and ensure more transparency around tax havens. It welcomed the British Government’s commitment to force foreign-owned companies that buy property in the UK to publish information about who ultimately controls them.
Air traffick control
The Catholic Church is to train staff at Liverpool John Lennon Airport in how to spot potential victims of trafficking and modern slavery. Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who leads the Santa Marta Project, an international anti-slavery alliance between church leaders and the police, told the Press Association that staff who worked in coffee shops near check-in desks would be encouraged to look out for people who looked nervous or distressed.
Uprising priests remembered
The Dublin priests who ministered during the 1916 Easter Rising have been remembered at a Mass at the city’s Pro-Cathedral. More than 40 people sheltered in the cathedral for days during the fighting, while priests continued to go out into the streets, jails and hospitals to minister to the sick and dying. Accounts written by some 20 priests were read out during the commemoration, which also hosted the Dublin premiere of “A Terrible Beauty”, a new suite written by one of Ireland’s most distinguished traditional musicians, Dr Charlie Lennon.
New abbot for Quarr Abbey
Dom Xavier Perrin was last week elected as Abbot of Quarr Abbey, the Benedictine abbey on the Isle of Wight. Fr Perrin, who was born in Tours, in France, in 1958, entered the Abbey of Sainte Anne de Kergonan, a monastery founded by the Solesmes Congregation of Benedictines in southern Brittany in 1980. He was ordained in 1989 and appointed Prior Administrator of Quarr in 2013.
Mental health
Bishop Richard Moth, who leads the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales’ work in mental health, has called on the Church to continue to reach out to people who suffer from mental illness. Speaking on the feast day of St Dymphna, the patron saint of mental illness, he said that churches could offer practical and spiritual health as well as challenging the stigma that often surrounds mental health problems.
“The stresses and strains of modern life, age, trauma, and genetics – mental illness has its roots everywhere and nowhere,” he said. “Whatever the reason, those who suffer with mental illness are no less part of the flock … We should welcome everyone into our parishes and make our churches places of comfort and safety for those who may not find these qualities in their own minds.”
Pope blesses Mary's Meals
Pope Francis urged the founder of the Scottish charity Mary’s Meals to continue its efforts to feed schoolchildren around the world, telling him “Avanti! (Onwards!)”. Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow (above) met the Pope after the General Audience in Rome last week and gave him a copy of his book, The Shed That Fed A Million Children, in Spanish.
Grasping his visitor’s hands Pope Francis said: “Avanti! Avanti! Avanti! Che Dio benedica il Vostro lavoro” – “Onwards! Onwards! Onwards! May God bless your work.”
Church thief jailed
An antique dealer who stole valuable artworks from churches, including a stone coffin, crucifixes and part of an oak rood screen, has been jailed for three years and eight months. Christopher Cooper admitted fraud, theft and dealing in tainted cultural objects at Hereford Crown Court last Tuesday. He is believed to have made about £150,000 from the thefts, which he committed by posing as a visitor.
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