News Briefing: from Britain and Ireland

History was made in Ireland last weekend with the beatification of Jesuit priest Fr John Sullivan (1861-1933) at a ceremony presided over by Cardinal Angelo Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

In an unprecedented ecumenical gesture, the formal request for beatification was made by both the Church of Ireland and the Catholic Archbishops of Dublin, reflecting Fr Sullivan’s life, initially as an Anglican and later as a Catholic priest. Fr Sullivan converted to Catholicism at thea age of 35 and spent many years at Clongowes Wood College in Kildare. He was also known for his work with the sick and the dying. In his address in Gardiner Street Church in Dublin, the Church of Ireland Primate, Archbishop Michael Jackson, described the occasion as a “day of celebration and joy” in the context of the “unending need for reconciliation in Ireland”. Speaking afterwards to The Tablet he said he hoped the beatification would send a signal that “both parts of Ireland remain spiritually and in a human way very much combined”.

He said Brexit’s “divisiveness” had left people on the island of Ireland feeling not divorced but “bereaved” and with “a strong sense of losing one another”.

The closeness that Fr John Sullivan had brought about between the two religious traditions, he added, was a message for politicians. “What happened in Gardiner Street Church would have seemed impossible in times when people didn’t really relate to one another in a way that is friendly, positive and constructive,” he said.

Among those who attended the ceremony was Fr John Sullivan’s great-great-nephew, Peter Lloyd, who travelled from Britain with his wife and two sons. On Sunday, the Jesuit celebrations continued when Archbishop Diarmuid Martin ordained Fr Edward Cosgrove as a priest at Milltown Institute.

Ex-monk faces extradition

A former monk at Fort Augustus Abbey School in Scotland is eligible for extradition to face questioning over allegations that he abused boys, according to a magistrate in Australia. Denis “Chrysostom” Alexander has been living in Sydney since 1979 where he continued to serve as a priest for nearly two decades despite allegations about his conduct. He denies the claims relating to Fort Augustus Abbey School in the Highlands. In 2013, he became the subject of a police investigation after a BBC Scotland team confronted him at his Sydney home as part of a documentary into alleged abuse at the school, which is now closed. He was arrested earlier this year and remanded back into custody after the latest hearing. His defence team may appeal the decision.

Eco pilgrims

Pilgrimage professionals from across Europe retraced the route to Canterbury over the past few days as part of an eco-initiative, the Green Pilgrimage Project. Hosted by the Church of England Diocese of Canterbury, the aim was to highlight the environmental and economic, as well as the spiritual, benefits of pilgrimages and long-distance walking, according to Projects Officer, Jennifer Ross. There has been a big increase in the number of people signing up for these types of holidays, she added. Further details at http://www.greenpilgrimageeurope.net/

Consecration inquiry

The Church of England is investigating the events around the consecration in Newcastle of a bishop by a breakaway South African Church. The Revd Jonathan Pryke, who has served at Jesmond Parish Church for almost two decades, was consecrated
as a “bishop in the Church of God” by the Presiding Bishop of the Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa. Neither the Diocese of Newcastle
nor its bishop, Christine Hardman, was aware of the action.

“If someone comes to your door on the election campaign, ask them what they will do for child refugees,” said Lord (Alf) Dubs, who was speaking at the official launch of The Migration Museum in central London, where it will be based for the next year. The museum records and explores how people have moved to and from Britain over the generations and draws on the research of over 60 historians based in universities and historical institutions in Britain. Lord Dubs introduced the Dubs Amendment to the Immigration Bill to bring unaccompanied child refugees to Britain last year.

The 60th Christian Aid Week took place this week (14-20 May) with 2,200 community Big Brekkies, and around 50,000 house-to-house collections being organised by the charity nationwide to raise funds for the world’s poorest people, with a particular emphasis on refugees.

Lorna Donlon