News Briefing: from Britain and Ireland

Migrants’ Mass
Hundreds of people attended St John’s Cathedral in Salford, above, on 1 May, for the first ever Mass for Migrants in the city, which recognised the contribution of migrant workers and their families to British society. The Mass was organised by the Diocese of Salford and its sister charity, Caritas Salford. The Bishop of Salford, John Arnold, highlighted his support for the event and said he looked forward to the Migrants’ Mass playing an important role in the church calendar for many years to come. It was, he added, an opportunity to celebrate the “wonderful sense of community and diversity” in local parishes.

In London, this year’s Migrants’ Mass, jointly organised by the dioceses of Westminster, Southwark and Brentwood, will take place later this month on 20 May at St Antony of Padua in Forest Gate, in the diocese of Brentwood.

Hospital deadlock
The Irish Government is considering a long-term lease agreement for the National Maternity Hospital (NMH) when it transfers to St Vincent’s campus in Dublin, in an effort to resolve the row over the Religious Sisters of Charity’s ownership of the facility. Health Minister Simon Harris, as well as the majority of the NMH board, had believed the clinical independence of the new facility was guaranteed by a deal with St Vincent’s brokered by mediator Kieran Mulvey.

As the row erupted, Bishop Kevin Doran, chairman of the bishops’ task group on bioethics, stated that a Catholic healthcare organisation “has a special responsibility … to Catholic teachings about the value of human life and the dignity and the ultimate destiny of the human person”. The bishop clarified his comments and said he was speaking in “general terms”. However, his comments were interpreted as indicating that the new €300m facility would have to operate to Catholic standards in areas such as sterilisations, abortions and IVF because of the religious order’s ownership of the facility, having provided the land.

Last week, the former master of the NMH, Dr Peter Boylan, tendered his resignation over concerns about the governance of the new hospital. Former master of the Coombe Women & Infants University Hospital, Professor Chris Fitzpatrick, also resigned from the board and called for absolute separation between the Church and medicine in the field of female reproductive healthcare.

Mr Harris has asked for a month to devise a solution which will satisfy both hospitals and address the issue of the ownership of the facility.

Liverpool Hope University has achieved the second-highest rise nationally in the annual rankings of the 2018 Complete University Guide. The university, an Ecumenical Christian Foundation, has climbed 25 places, making it 58th out of 129 in the table. The Guide is compiled using different measures including student satisfaction, research quality and spending on academic services. Professor Gerald Pillay, vice chancellor and rector of Liverpool Hope, said the results were “most encouraging” and that the university “placed a strong focus on personal development and education ‘in the round’.”

Sea for bishop
Bishop Paul Mason, Auxiliary Bishop of Southwark, is the new Bishop Promoter for the Apostleship of the Sea (AoS) in England and Wales. The bishop, who was once asked to help out as a chaplain on a cruise ship during Easter and Christmas in 2012 and 2013, said the AoS offers “vital work that brings practical help, prayer, sacramental care and fellowship to so many”.

Up to three million children are at risk of “Holiday Hunger”, particularly in the six- week summer holidays, a cross-party group of MPs and peers has warned. As a result, children who eat poorly over the holidays are vulnerable to malnutrition and risk falling behind with their education and life chances, the report concluded. The all-party parliamentary group on hunger described it as “a significant and growing problem”, after hearing evidence from Caritas Social Action Network, schools, councils and food banks. The group called on Ministers to put some of the money raised as part of the planned tax on sugary drinks into setting up support schemes with local churches and charities.

The Church in Wales has appointed the Dean of Salisbury, the Very Revd June Osborne, above, to be the new Bishop of Llandaff. The appointment, by the Bench of Bishops, comes two months after the Dean of St Albans, the Very Revd Dr Jeffrey John, said he was rejected for the role because he was gay. Dr John said homophobic remarks had been made at the electoral college meeting. The Church “strongly denied” the allegations and said a candidate required two thirds of the vote to be chosen. Dean Osborne, who will be enthroned at Llandaff Cathedral on 22 July, said the appointment was a “great privilege”.

Glasgow councillors have agreed to move ahead with a proposal to build a monument to St John Ogilvie at Glasgow Cross, the spot where Scotland’s only Catholic martyr was executed in 1615 for celebrating Mass clandestinely and for refusing to pledge allegiance to King James VI. Ahead of Thursday’s council elections, Glasgow City Council leader Frank McAveety committed a future administration to supporting the project, saying it was a “privilege” to work with Glasgow faith groups.