Peace vigil with Pax Christi and others returns to Lakenheath in Suffolk

News briefings Britain and Ireland

Pax Christi England and Wales joined groups from different faiths on 23 April for a peace vigil at the gates of Lakenheath airbase in Suffolk after fears emerged that US nuclear weapons could return to the base. From 1954, the base held US nuclear weapons until they were eventually removed in 2008 after years of protests.  Pax Christi chief executive, Andrew Jackson, read extracts from statements by Pope Francis opposing nuclear weapons. “With his death, his words and exhortations seemed still more relevant,”said Jackson, “and it felt powerful to be standing yards from where nuclear weapons might actually be stored and to speak out his declaration that it is not just the use of nuclear weapons that is immoral but their very possession.” Liturgies were also led by the Iona community, Anglican Pacifist Fellowship, Christian CND, London Catholic Worker and Quakers. 

 A Filipino bishop is to speak at a National Justice and Peace Network Day on 10 May at Cafod’s London office. In the lead up to Laudato Si Week, Bishop Gerardo Alimane Alminaza of San Carlos will focus on extractive industries and the need for ethical investment, alongside Bokani Tshidzu of Operation Noah and James Buchanan of the Laudato Si Movement. Shanon Shan, the Muslim Director of Faith for the Climate, will lead group work on creation-centred theology, taken from Laudato si’, Laudato Deum and the Muslim document Al Mizan: A Covenant with the Earth. Other speakers include Mary Finnerty, lead economist at Cafod, and Mary and Peter Johnson of a “live simply parish” in Brentwood diocese and the Southern Dioceses Environment Network. Justice and peace activists from around England and Wales are expected to attend.

Anthony Rouse is welcomed at the finish line. Credit: HCPT

Cafod, Jesuit Refugee Service UK, HCPT and the Prison Advice and Care Trust were among the charities that had teams running in last Sunday’s London Marathon, prompting thousands of pounds worth of charitable giving. Team Cafod had 38 runners who raised over £100,000. They were told, “You were amazing and thanks for doing it in support of our work.” JRS UK had 35 runners fundraising for services for refugees and asylum seekers. “They have been training for months and we couldn’t be prouder of their amazing effort,” said the charity. HCPT thanked seven runners. Anthony Rouse of Group 170 in Southampton raised nearly £6000, running the day after returning from pilgrimage week in Lourdes.

JRS  UK cheering on their runners. Credit: JRS UK

St Bonaventure’s School for boys in Forest Gate, east London, has received the School Mental Health Award at gold level from the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health in Schools. This national award reflects the school’s commitment to promoting mental health and well-being for all students, staff and the wider school community. The school offers a range of support to pupils via workshops, one-to-one interventions, a range of peer-mentoring programmes and has a partnership with an art therapy organisation. Staff are offered support from the school chaplain and nurse and counselling services.

A celebration of the painter JMW Turner (1775-1851) was held on 23 April at the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Farm Street. The evening, marking the 250th anniversary of Turner’s birth, featured a conversation between Adam Dant, a map artist producing a special 10ft x 10ft map celebrating Turner’s birthplace and the contemporary artist Tim Wright. It was compered by Will Palin, chief executive of Barts Heritage and the son of Michael Palin. The evening included a tasting of Mr Turner’s Porter, a bespoke brew created for the occasion. Fr Dominic Robinson SJ, the parish priest of Farm Street said the painter would have known the area when the Jesuits were moving into central London as new buildings were established. “He would have trod this very earth,” he said. 

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has launched an online webpage popefrancistributes.com where people can leave “a message, prayer or short reflections” about Pope Francis. The liturgy office of the conference has also produced a leaflet with a prayer for the Pope’s successor, which reads: “O God, who chose your servant, in succession to the Apostle Peter as shepherd of the whole flock, look favourably on the supplications of your people and grant that, as Vicar of Christ on earth, he may confirm his brethren and that the whole Church may be in communion with him in the bond of unity, love and peace, so that in you, the shepherd of souls, all may know the truth and attain life eternal. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.” It also contains a Prayer for Francis asking God to grant that the Pope “may happily enjoy for ever in your presence in heaven the mysteries of your grace and compassion, which he faithfully ministered on earth.” The leaflet also features Psalm 120 and the Nunc Dimittis or Canticle of Simeon. 

More than 1,000 copies of the book accompanying a course titled Pilgrimage to Pentecost have been purchased in the Archdiocese of Southwark.  It features daily scripture-based reflections and a Pentecost Novena for the nine days leading up to the feast. Nearly 30 parishes have signed up to run the course which began last Sunday and will continue until the Saturday following Pentecost Sunday. It comprises six weekly sessions, each with a video consisting of worship, a short talk and a testimony professionally filmed at Southwark’s Jubilee Churches and Shrines. The films will be available to watch on the Archdiocese’s YouTube channel, even for those not taking part in an organised group. The archdiocese is encouraging every pilgrim to attend a pilgrimage day on 7 June at the Carmelite Friary in Aylesford, which is to conclude with Archbishop John Wilson of Southwark praying for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the archdiocese. 

Child poverty in Catholic schools across Greater Manchester and Lancashire has risen over the past three years, according to Caritas Salford. New research from the charity found more than 95 per cent of headteachers in the region said the number had risen and 35 per cent stated the increase had been significant. Half stating told Caritas that poverty affects more than 75 per cent of their pupils. Patrick O’Dowd, director of Caritas Salford, said: “It is clear from the data that children consistently have the highest poverty rates when compared with other groups. We believe this is unacceptable.” He added: “Growing up in poverty is known to have significant and long-lasting consequences, particularly when it comes to health and educational outcomes and attainment.”

The Secretary for the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s discipline section, Archbishop John Kennedy, described Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re’s homily at the funeral for Pope Francis as “a masterpiece in looking back on Francis’s life, on what he has left behind, on the work that he had tried to achieve and on the work that still needs to be done”. Speaking to The Tablet, the Irish prelate noted the special focus on the need to advance the cause of peace, to overcome injustice and stop the violence and outrage that is crippling so many parts of the world. “Although he was facing down into the square, his words were more or less directed at all the world leaders because they are the ones who have the capacity to enact peace and to make steps for peace.” Referring to the encounter ahead of the funeral ceremony between US President, Donald Trump and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, as well as the presence of Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Emmanuel Macron of France, Archbishop Kennedy saidd, “It was almost as if Pope Francis’s words had found a place in their heart and within the tranquillity of St Peter’s Basilica, over the tomb of St Peter, on such a special and holy day.”

Environmental campaigner Fr Seán McDonagh has paid tribute to Pope Francis’s leadership saying he was the first pope to “truly take the ecological crisis seriously”. The Columban Missionary said Laudato Si’ was “a watershed moment” for faith-based environmentalism and that the encyclical marked “a profound turning point” in how the Catholic Church engages with the natural world. “What he did was extraordinary; he put care for creation at the very heart of Catholic teaching.” Speaking to the Irish Independent, the eco theologian said Francis called the world to confront climate change, loss of biodiversity, and ecological degradation “not just as political or scientific issues, but as urgent moral concerns”.

Dr Mary McAleese has said she remains hopeful but not expectant that strides can be taken during the next papacy on the ordination of women. Interviewed by The Sunday Times, the former president of Ireland criticised the “fake theology” that bans women from becoming priests. She appealed to the cardinals entering the conclave to vote for someone who will reconsider the role women in the Church. “The church has 1.4 billion people and half of them are women. They are all God’s creation, so no one has the right to put fences around where their talents will go. The Church has done that.”

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