News briefings Britain and Ireland

A stamp has been issued in Ireland to commemorate the priest known as the “Vatican Pimpernel,” for saving thousands of Jews in the Second World War.

Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, the first Irishman to be named a notary of the Holy Office, was born in Cork in 1898, and following ordination, joined the Vatican diplomatic service.  The stamp, launched at the Dublin General Post Office, features a sketch of O’Flaherty made in Rome in the 1920s or 1930s. Patrick O’Donovan, the Irish minister for Culture, Sports and Communication who attended the launchs said: “Few figures embody courage and compassion in the face of evil more than Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty.”

The Installation of the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, will take place at Canterbury Cathedral on Wednesday 25 March 2026, the Feast of the Annunciation. Archbishop Sarah will be installed on the Cathedral Chair, or Cathedra, as the diocesan bishop of the See of Canterbury, the oldest diocese in the English church. Following this, she will be installed on the Chair of St Augustine, the St Augustine Cathedra, as Primate of All England. The Feast of the Annunciation celebrates the day the Angel Gabriel told Mary she would be the mother of Jesus. She will remain in her current post as Bishop of London until her confirmation of election at St Paul’s, London on 28 January, at which she will legally become the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Catholic Education Service and Caritas Social Action Network hosted a roundtable discussion in the House of Lords on 21 October on child poverty. They called for a comprehensive child poverty strategy and for scrapping the two-child cap on benefits, which, they said, undermines financial security of families with three or more children. A CES survey of child poverty in Catholic schools last December found that 90 per cent encountered families struggling with the cost of living, and implemented a wide range of initiatives in response. These included breakfast clubs, uniform support, and food bank referrals.

Trussell Trust has launched a campaign calling on the UK Government to remove the two-child limit in the upcoming Autumn budget. It says this is one of the most harmful policies driving families to food banks. Trussell statistics show that almost one third of food bank parcels provided by them go to families with three or more children. Trussell estimates that scrapping the two-child limit would lift 470,000 children out of hardship and improve the financial situation for 700,000 more.

The National Police Requiem for 2025 will be celebrated on Tuesday 4 November at Westminster Cathedral at 2pm. Organised by the Catholic Police Guild, this will be the 102nd Requiem, and commemorate all officers and staff who have died on duty and all members of the Guild. Afterwards, refreshments will be served in the Cathedral Hall in Ambrosden Avenue.

Bishop William Kenney, the bishop for conflict and peacebuilding at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said in a statement for UN Disarmament Week (24-30 October) that the increase in governments around the world using war rhetoric, including nuclear threats, to exert control must be firmly condemned. He urged Catholics to encourage their leaders to “prioritise dialogue and non-violent conflict resolution” and “reduce and limit their weapon stockpiles”.

Scotland Justice and Peace was one of the faith groups that joined a march through central Edinburgh last Saturday calling for more action to tackle poverty in Scotland. Around 23 per cent of Scotland’s children live in poverty. Thousands, carrying placards and colourful banners, made their way from the Scottish Parliament to a rally at the Meadows. The “Scotland Demands Better” demonstration was organised by The Poverty Alliance, trade unions and charities to push for more action on poverty ahead of the UK Budget and next year’s Scottish Parliament elections. They called for improved jobs, stronger social security, and investments in housing, transport, healthcare, education, and the environment.

Catholic Schools Week in January 2026 is celebrating everyday holiness as its key theme.  According to the Catholic Education Partnership the theme offers “a meaningful opportunity” to speak to children and young people about how God calls each of us to holiness in the concrete circumstances of daily life”. It will also allow schools to introduce students to modern saints like St Carlo Acutis, who lived an ordinary teenage life with extraordinary faith.Students will be encouraged to explore the meaning of holiness as a loving relationship with Jesus Christ, lived through prayer, service, courage, love, and joy.

Viatores Christi has trained and supported more than 2000 lay missionaries and development workers over the past 65 years who have served in projects across Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.  Marking the anniversary, outgoing President of Viatores Christi, Pauline Conway, said the lay missionary organisation had been ahead of its time.  “As the Irish Church continues along its Synodal Pathway, Viatores Christi stands as a living witness to the vitality and leadership of lay people in mission,” she said.  The group is providing opportunities for young people (18-35) to volunteer in Africa and Latin America next year.

Violent unrest linked to an anti-refugee protest outside a centre housing asylum-seekers in West Dublin was strongly condemned by Archbishop Dermot Farrell as “thuggery” and a “terrible attack on the forces of law and order in our country”. The public disorder outside the Citywest Hotel in Saggart village followed reports that a 10-year-old girl had been sexually assaulted by an asylum-seeker. A 26-year-old male has appeared in court charged in connection with the alleged assault. At their autumn general meeting in Maynooth the Irish bishops appealed to Christians to serve the common good by welcoming the stranger and living in harmony with all people.

New research on attitudes to marriage has revealed that the vast majority of people are not aware that those who are already civilly married may, at a later date, become sacramentally married in the church. A survey carried out for Accord, the Catholic marriage support agency, showed that 77 per cent of respondents were not aware that a marriage ceremony known as convalidation was available to couples already civilly married.  Amarach’s research for Accord also showed that among non-married Catholics, 60 per cent would want to get married in church and that 53 per cent were not aware that it is possible to have a marriage ceremony in church without Mass.

Tributes have been paid to the former editor of religious programmes at RTÉ, Fr Dermod McCarthy, who has died aged 83. Ordained for the Archdiocese of Dublin in 1966, Fr McCarthy was a former administrator of St Mary’s Pro Cathedral, Dublin and a consultor to the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Social Communications.  He was part of Radharc’s team of pioneering priest-filmmakers, along with Fr Joseph Dunn and Fr Desmond Forristal, which made more than 400 programmes over 34 years. RTÉ’s commissioning editor of religious content, Roger Childs, said Fr McCarthy wanted to make programmes that reflected how faith should be woven into every aspect of life.

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