News Briefing: from Britain and Ireland

Door of Mercy service
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, joined Cardinal Vincent Nichols (above) for the closing of the Door of Mercy at Westminster Cathedral on 13 November. Also present were bishops from England and Wales, members of the Chapter of Canons and ecumenical guests. Preaching for the first time in Westminster Cathedral at Vespers, Archbishop Welby said that the Year of Mercy had “caught the imagination, not only in the Catholic Church, but in all Churches and far beyond”. He described mercy as a gift “that dissolves the hardness of hearts”. Cardinal Nichols expressed his joy at welcoming Archbishop Welby to the celebration before they jointly gave the final blessing. The Year concludes tomorrow.

Moxon to step down
The Archbishop of Canterbury’s representative to the Holy See and director of the Anglican Centre in Rome (ACR), Archbishop David Moxon, is to retire in June next year after four years in the post. A spokesperson for the ACR said that “replacing Archbishop Moxon involves finding an Anglican bishop with the experience and stature required to represent the Archbishop of Canterbury at this opportune time in Anglican–Roman Catholic relationships”.

Support for aged priests urged
Fr Brendan Hoban, one of the founders of the Association for Catholic Priests in Ireland, has issued a plea for more support for the country’s ageing priests. In an address to the group’s annual general meeting this week, he responded to recent concerns over the wellbeing of clergy in Ireland and the number of priests committing suicide in recent years.

Fr Hoban told The Tablet: “With the average age of Irish priests creeping up to 70, many are already beyond self-care. But care, as distinct from self-care, involves consideration, acknowledgement, support, encouragement and respect. Priests who served the Church for so long deserve no less.”

A Global Interfaith Statement signed by faith leaders including the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle has been handed to COP22, the international climate change conference meeting in Marrakesh this week. The statement, drafted by more than 30 faith groups, including Cafod and the Global Catholic Climate Movement, calls for states to rapidly increase pledges to reduce carbon emissions and for faith communities to divest from fossil fuels and invest in renewable energy.

Archbishop Richard Clarke (above left), the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh, and Archbishop Eamon Martin Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, jointly laid a wreath at the War Memorial on the Mall in Armagh on Remembrance Sunday last weekend. The gesture follows a peace pilgrimage led by the two archbishops to First World War sites of battle in France and Belgium in June, along with a group of young adults from both Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic traditions.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, Archbishop Emeritus of Westminster, has been chosen to represent Pope Francis at the consecration of a new cathedral in Trondheim, Norway. The cathedral, dedicated to St Olaf, was built to accommodate the growing number of faithful in Norway, many of whom are Filipino immigrants. It will be consecrated on 19 November.

Funerals training
Lay people in the Diocese of Galloway will soon be able to conduct funerals after the first session of a four-part course of training was held at St Bride’s in West Kilbride.

The Vicar General of the diocese, Fr William McFadden, said that demand was growing for funerals without a Requiem Mass or a formal religious service of any kind, but denied that this was a problem in a rural diocese like Galloway. “In fact, the main take-up has been in North Ayrshire, where the population is densest. This shouldn’t be seen as an initiative to help priests who are struggling ... Conducting funerals is just part of a wider approach to ministry,” he told The Tablet. The project, which is a pilot, is not being taken up in Scotland’s other dioceses.

The Archbishop Emeritus of Southwark, Kevin McDonald, was due to be joined by Rabbi Natan Levy and Professor of Islamic Studies Sajjad Rizvi for an ecumenical evening at Clifton Cathedral last Wednesday. The speakers, representing three different faiths, were to discuss their own tradition’s understanding of God’s love as part of celebrations for Interfaith Week, which ends tomorrow. A spokesman for the Diocese of Clifton described the evening as an opportunity to explore one of Pope Francis’ hopes for the Jubilee Year of Mercy, that it be a time for dialogue, respect and understanding. The event is one of hundreds of interfaith events taking place during the week.

Appeal for Yazidis
Britain needs to extend the help it gives Syrian refugees to women in Iraq belonging to the Yazidi sect, the All Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief has said. The group is concerned about the vulnerability of the Yazidis after they were targeted by Islamic State. The issue was aired during a debate on 15 November at Westminster hosted by Catholic MP Brendan O’Hara that called for Yazidi refugees in Turkey and Greece to receive help from the UK.

Interfaith  initiative
Lambeth Palace has launched a new initiative to unite Christians and Jews in shared action. The project called “In Good Faith” will initially run for a year and will encourage priests and rabbis based in close geographical proximity to explore mutual concerns. It is being led by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and by the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations, Ephraim Mirvis.

Papal honour for Dr Kesting
A minister in the Church of Scotland has become only the second non-Catholic woman in the UK to be named a Dame of the Order of St Gregory by Pope Francis. The Very Revd Dr Sheilagh Kesting (pictured with Archbishop Leo Cushley of St Andrews) was recognised for her years of work in building relationships among Churches in Scotland. The Church of Scotland said she was the first of its ministers to receive the award. Archbishop Cushley of St Andrews and Edinburgh, presenting Dr Kesting with the honour on 6 November, told her: “We wrote to the Pope and we asked him if we could have a papal decoration for you. So this is from Pope Francis and it is a declaration making you a Dame of the Order of St Gregory the Great.” Dr Kesting, the Church of Scotland’s moderator in 2007, said she was “absolutely overwhelmed.”