News briefings Britain and Ireland

Bishop Thomas McMahon, the longest-serving Bishop of Brentwood to date, has died aged 89.

An identical twin, he was born of Irish parents who had emigrated to England and had three older siblings. In 1954 he entered the Seminary of Saint-Sulpice, Paris. He was appointed parish priest of Stock in 1969 and remained there after being made bishop, the presbytery becoming his episcopal residence, having served 56 years at the time of his death. He was appointed sixth Bishop of Brentwood in 1980. Among many other achievements he will be remembered for the new cathedral at Brentwood, by architect Quinlan Terry, dedicated by Cardinal Basil Hume in 1991, the first cathedral to be built in the classical style since Wren’s St Paul, London.

Catholic dioceses and charities are marking Advent with emails and action ideas. Cafod is offering Advent reflections, starting on 30 November. They include scripture, stories and prayers. The Archdiocese of Southwark is among those sending out a daily reflection. The National Justice and Peace Network is offering Advent resources, produced by Anne O’Connor, on the themes of hope, peace, joy and love. Missio and the Catholic Union are among those also offering thoughts and reflections. ACN, Cafod, HCPT, Friends of the Holy Land, PACT and The Tablet are among those with Advent Carol services during December. On Monday 1 December at 7pm the Jesuit Refugee Advent service, featuring carols, readings and performances, will take place at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street, London.

The Archdiocese of Southwark has published the results of Called to Bear Fruit, a  consultation on the life and mission of the Church in the archdiocese. The final report says: “There is a profound love of the Lord Jesus in our parishes, along with a burning desire to lead people to him.” It identifies “youth”, as “the most urgent priority” for Southwark parishioners, saying there was a “widespread call to invest in engaging and supporting young people at the heart of our mission”.

The Southwell Consort will sing renaissance-polyphony from the Hispano-Flemish court of Philip II at St James, Spanish Place on 6 December at 7.30pm. Directed by Jeremy Summerly, the Royal Spanish Advent concert will feature the soloists Ana Beard Fernández and Dominic Bevan. For tickets, please click here.

A landmark exhibition of art created by the guests of Caritas Bakhita House was on display at the London Jesuit Centre from 3 – 23 November. It featured paintings, prints and hand-crafted items made during weekly art sessions at the safe house for survivors of human trafficking and modern slavery established by Caritas Westminster in 2015. To date, 200 women and 18 babies from 50 countries have lived at Bakhita House. “For many of the women staying with us, art can be an important step towards processing trauma that cannot yet be verbalised,” said Karen Anstiss, head of Caritas Bakhita House.

A Jesuit Missions’ partner has called on richer nations to take meaningful action on debt cancellation and climate finance to ensure vulnerable communities around the world do not “disappear”. Patricia Tahirindray, programme coordinator at the Centre Arrupe Madagascar, said many countries in the Global South are “suffocating” under the weight of crippling debt repayments and limited access to environmental finance packages. Speaking at a Jesuits for Climate Justice press conference at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, she said the only fair way to resolve this issue is to address the imbalance. “Behind every budget line, there are lives,” she said. “Vulnerable countries are not asking for charity, but for justice, equality, and common but differentiated responsibilities, including historical responsibility.”

Nicholas Breakspear Catholic School in St Albans is one of nine organisations to have been awarded a grant from ECLAS and Scientists in Congregations, both funded by the John Templeton Foundation, to carry out a project on the relationship between science, technology, and faith. Scientists, theologians, and other professionals will be invited to lead conversations on topics including artificial intelligence, healthcare, and the nature of the human person, to which students, their families, and wider communities from across Hertfordshire and North London will be invited. The first event took place on 24 November, entitled “An Introduction to Science, Faith, and Technology”, led by Fr Toby Lees OP and attended by Bishop Paul McAleenan. Marta Gallego, head of biology at the school, said, “We want to inspire and nurture a new generation of active Christians with a well-rounded understanding of God’s creation.”

Students from Oxford’s Newman Society and Catholic Chaplaincy joined the Christian Union and Hindu, Sikh, and Islamic groups for an interfaith dinner hosted by the Jewish student society at the Oxford Synagogue on 7 November, which drew record-breaking attendance.

Bishop Sarah Mullally, archbishop-designate and current Bishop of London, told the Lords on 13 November she opposes moves to stop asylum seekers citing religious persecution if they convert to Christianity once in the UK. She said there’s no evidence of fake conversions and clergy are trained to discern genuine faith.  She has “deep concerns” about an amendment to the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill which would prevent asylum seekers from raising the risk of religious persecution in their homeland if they are found to have converted to Christianity only after their arrival in the UK.

The Scottish Parliament has ruled out further protections written in to the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill. At a meeting of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, MSPs approved an amendment that would allow attending doctors to initiate discussion of assisted suicide, and also proposed that death certificates should not make mention of life-ending drugs, but list cause of death solely as the underlying illness. The committee has also voted against allowing hospices offering end-of-life care to opt out of assisted suicide, a decision which will significantly impact Catholic care homes.

The Church needs to “champion and promote the dignity of women”, the leader of the Irish Church, Archbishop Eamon Martin, told the Abide in His Love women’s conference in Bundoran, Co Donegal last weekend. In his address Archbishop Martin said that in recent years there was more appreciation of the “indispensable contribution” women make to transforming the world from within and to the daily life and mission of both Church and society. However, he lamented that too often the personal dignity of women is threatened by violence, abuse, inequality, commercial surrogacy, pornography, gender ideology and various forms of exploitation.

The Diocese of Cork and Ross is introducing the use of common postures at Mass from the First Sunday of Advent. In preparation for the standardisation of postures, the diocese has produced resources to explain the meaning behind sitting, kneeling or standing at different parts of the celebration of the Eucharist. “The ways we sit, stand and kneel help us to pray together as one family in Christ,” the leaflet explains. The move is in response to a desire expressed during Cork and Ross’ Year of Prayer, Listening and Discernment for a more united experience of worship during Sunday Mass.

The Irish Church’s newest priest was ordained in the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity, Waterford by Bishop Alphonsus Cullinan on the Feast of Christ the King. Fr Stuart McGovern is a former mechanical engineer and businessman from Dublin who studied in Maynooth and Rome. He was ordained a deacon on Divine Mercy Sunday.Separately, 24 young men joined seminarians in Maynooth for the National Vocations Office’s annual vocations weekend to explore a possible calling to diocesan priesthood.

Theologian Fr Fergus Kerr OP has died aged 94. Former Prior at Blackfriars Hall, the Scottish Dominican was well known for his work on Wittgenstein and Aquinas.

Stay updated — add us as a preferred news source on Google: