Kasper praises Durham centre
Cardinal Walter Kasper has praised the work of the Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University, which this week held a three-day conference to celebrate its 10th anniversary. In a message read to delegates, Cardinal Kasper, former president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said the centre provided a distinctive forum “to pursue the difficult questions of our time with both creativity and fidelity”.
Catholic peer, Lord (Daniel) Brennan QC (pictured), was due to give a lecture on “Catholics in Public Life: A UK Perspective”.
Message to the Queen
The leader of Catholics in England and Wales sent a message to the Queen and the Heads of Commonwealth countries who met this week in London. Cardinal Vincent Nichols praised Queen Elizabeth II’s role within the Commonwealth as a “paradigm of selfless service” and an “inspiration to us all”. He said the values promoted by the Commonwealth – prosperity, democracy and peace – are values that are “intrinsic to promoting the dignity of the human person and the common good, both of which are at the heart of Catholic teaching”.
The cardinal also last week joined with the Archbishop of Canterbury in urging Catholics to participate in “Thy Kingdom Come”, a global movement of prayer between Ascension and Pentecost, from 10 to 20 May. In a video interview he told Archbishop Justin Welby that he senses in the world today a “deep unease” at how things are, but also sometimes a “buoyant hope” that they will be transformed. Thy Kingdom Come began as an invitation from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York in 2016 to the Church of England, but has grown into an ecumenical worldwide call to prayer.
Delegates who attended a conference on the family for reform-minded Catholics in Ireland have demanded that 50 per cent of all speakers lined up for the World Meeting of Families in Dublin this August must be women. The reform group, the Association of Catholics in Ireland (ACI), discussed the forthcoming gathering which Pope Francis will attend. Delegates highlighted that, of the 18 speakers so far announced, just one is a woman, while 17 are men, including 15 cardinals. Other participants demanded that the ACI communicate the “immense anger” of Irish Catholics at the Church’s attitude to gay and lesbian people. Calling for an apology, conference participants accused the Church of “a major heresy” in its criticisms of gay people. Susan Casey, a divorced mother of two, also criticised the Church’s “demonisation” of divorced and separated families and warned that “the Eucharist is being used as a weapon rather than nourishment”.
A Catholic priest in Scotland has been jailed for nine years for sexually abusing three children and a student priest in crimes over a period of more than 20 years. Fr Paul Moore, 82, committed the crimes in various locations in Ayrshire between 1977 and 1996. His youngest victim was five when the priest abused him in his primary school. The judge told Moore he was guilty of despicable crimes and a gross breach of trust. A BBC Scotland investigation revealed five years ago that Moore confessed his abuse to his then bishop in 1996 and had been sent to a treatment centre in Toronto and to Fort Augustus Abbey in the Highlands. Bishop William Nolan, the Bishop of Galloway, said he “sincerely” renewed apologies previously made for abuse.
Parents’ appeal fails
The parents of 23-month-old Alfie Evans, who is terminally ill, lost their latest legal battle in the Court of Appeal on Monday, to allow the little boy to receive treatment in the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesù hospital in Rome. On Sunday Pope Francis called for prayers for the toddler who has spent over a year in a coma and suffers from a rare degenerative neurological condition. He is being treated at the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool.
In February, following hearings at the Family Division of the High Court in London and Liverpool, a judge ruled that doctors could stop treating the child, against the wishes of his parents, Kate James and Tom Evans. Last week, a High Court judge set a date to switch off the life support for the child, although the details cannot be reported for legal reasons.
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