Dear Reader,
How is the synodal process where you are? This week we have a new post, from church musician Kate Keefe, who describes some meetings in her parish and, to my mind, makes some significant key points: “We had converts and cradle Catholics, those who had lapsed and come back again, but sadly we didn’t have any currently lapsed people, because they are the ones we can’t reach, although we need to… Sexual abuse was raised, but the real wound seems to be the way the Church has handled it, which is not surprising and goes to the root of clericalism… The atmosphere was completely different from parish council meetings, much more open and engaging.” In the initial stages of reporting the synod, it was tempting at first to relate it to the Church of England’s General Synod. It quickly became clear this was wide of the mark. Today however I’ve written, for the first time in years, about the Lambeth Conference. Reflecting on the several Lambeth Conferences I’ve been to, it is possible that these gatherings and the years of preparations around them have much more in common with the synodal process than actual Anglican synods, not least because of the preponderance of prelates. Just as with the Pope’s vision for the synod, central to Lambeth, especially as imagined last time by Rowan Williams and now, this year, by Justin Welby, is “listening”. At Lambeth, in spite of best intentions, it was always the case that some simply did not wish to hear. Inevitably it is the same in the Catholic Church. Some priests are reluctant to engage and some lay people are struggling to trust in the process. But in spite of those who just will not listen, the Lambeth Conference is always dynamic, interesting and engaging, heralding change of one kind or another. The next Lambeth Conference is in Canterbury this summer, at this time when the Catholic Church is preparing through its listening process for the Synod on Synodality. Although the Anglican primates cannot now be in Rome next month for an audience with Pope Francis, I can’t help but hope that their voice can still be heard and that this could even be a help to the Catholic Church as it walks its own path to 2023.
1. Life is not always easy for young couples today, said Bishop Michael Router of Armagh at the shrine of St Valentine’s relics in Dublin. He cited insecure employment, rising costs, scarce housing and unaffordable childcare as problems facing young people. Bishop Router is vice-President of Accord, the Catholic marriage and relationship support agency in Ireland. Bishop Router gave four engaged couples a St Brigid’s cross. St Valentine’s shrine is within the Carmelite Church of Our Lady in Dublin. Sarah Mac Donald reports.
2. The St Vincent De Paul Society (SVP) says that the government’s Levelling Up White Paper fails to address the ingrained social and economic regional disparities across the UK. The SVP has enormous practical experience, operating nine community support centres and hundreds of local groups. Since the pandemic started it has seen request for support rise 75 per cent for food, and 140 per cent for support with paying bills and money advice. By Ellen Teague. In the print edition, Catholic headteacher Andrew O’Neill provides a wider definition of inequality: “The most deprived areas have significantly more children with special educational needs.” He writes of the school admissions process making it harder for children from disadvantaged backgrounds to access the best school for them. A long- term commitment to change society is needed, with the flourishing of every individual at its heart. Not a new policy but a 2,000-year old one, called Catholic Social Teaching. Opposition to multi-academy trust schools in Catholic dioceses has sparked legal threats, and resistance from teachers, governors and parents. Academy schools are removed from local authority oversight and are resourced and run by a trust. All 19 dioceses in England have some academies, but two-thirds of Catholic schools remain voluntary aided. Consolidating schools into multi-academy trusts is seen as a way of solving the threat of falling rolls and of schools joining non-Christian trusts. The Archdiocese of Birmingham is facing local opposition to its plan to convert and consolidate its schools into MATs. Many of its Catholic schools see themselves primarily as local community schools. However, Lancaster diocese counts teacher development and pooled expertise as benefits of academisation. By Ellen Teague.
3. In Arts, Brian Morton reviews two jazz albums: one by Swedish singer Anna von Hausswolff, whose music has been described by Catholic groups in France as “satanic”; the other titled The Gospel According to Nikki Giovanni by Javon Jackson, which has a deep faith behind it. Lucy Lethbridge reviews the new Netflix hit Inventing Anna, the true story (with made up bits) of the Russian-born daughter of a truck driver who passed herself off as an heiress worth $60 million. In blogs, Barnabas Aspray and Carmody Grey write about their new podcast in collaboration with The Tablet, Faith at the Frontiers which “confronts the toughest challenges to the Christian faith in a hopeful way”.
4. Another former Anglican bishop has joined the Catholic Church, writes Patrick Hudson. Dr Peter Forster is the former Bishop of Chester, now living in the Scottish borders. He was received into the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh in 2021, the fourth Church of England Bishop to become a Catholic last year. He is a supporter of women’s ordination, has opposed same-sex marriage and was criticised by IICSA for his handling of safeguarding matters in 2009.
5. Benedict XVI has released a letter in which he asks for forgiveness from the victims of clerical sexual abuse. A report found fault with his handling of abusive priests when he was Archbishop of Munich from 1977-82. The report criticised an 82-page document signed by Benedict for downplaying the Church’s responsibility for an offender priest, and for suggesting that abuse did not take place when a priest exposed himself to two girls. The same document also claims that Benedict was not present at a meeting at which an abusive priest was discussed. This has now been corrected – he was present – and was described as “an oversight” by Benedict, who has expressed deep hurt at the way this had been portrayed by the media. The legal team which advised him has also issued a statement which disputes the findings of the Munich report. This “analysis of facts” cites canon law then in force, and emphasises that in three cases Benedict was not aware that the priests concerned had committed abuse. Christopher Lamb reports. Meanwhile in Rome, Pope Francis appeared on the Italian equivalent of The Graham Norton Show. While not the most searching of interviews, Francis is reaching new audiences, writes Chris in his View from Rome.
6. The new head of research and policy for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, Dr Philip Booth, has spoken to The Tablet about his new role, which is advisory and will not necessarily reflect his own views. Dr Booth is a Professor of Economics and has previously worked as an advisor to the Bank of England. He runs the Catholic Social Thought website and is a senior fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs. The research and policy team is a new creation for the Conference. By Patrick Hudson.
7. In Ukraine, people are facing a serious humanitarian crisis as well as the threat of war with Russia. Most of the faithful in Eastern Ukraine are over 65 and are not able to receive their pensions. At a press conference organised by Aid to the Church in Need, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholics, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk vowed that his church would not abandon its people. The Apostolic Nuncio to Ukraine, Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, raised the possibility of a papal visit to the country, saying that Pope Francis is the most trusted religious person in Ukraine even though most people are not Catholic. Patriarch Antonios of the Eritrean Orthodox Church has died aged 94 after 15 years of house arrest. Religion is fiercely controlled in Eritrea where around half of its six million citizens are Christian, most of whom belong to the EOC. Filipe Avillez reports on both stories.
8. A conference was told that numbers of victims of human trafficking had risen since a charity to tackle slavery and trafficking had been founded in 2014. Kevin Hyland, a former Metropolitan Police chief, was speaking at the first European conference of the Santa Marta group, whose president and co-founder is Cardinal Vincent Nichols. The conference was held in Cologne and online on the International Day of Prayer and Awareness against Human Trafficking, 8 February. Madoc Cairns reports.
9. Valentine’s day has just passed, but who was St Valentine? Not the sender of syrupy verses, but “a priest and doctor, who, for the numerous conversions he made, was beheaded as a sorcerer”. Gertrude C Robinson’s article is based on her visit to the Roman catacomb around 1930 where St Valentine rested until the fourth century: “Even the English custom of sending valentines had, in its origin, the qualified sanction of the Church”, she wrote. Read her full article, fascinating, article in The Tablet’s digital archive which is available to online subscribers.
10. Our happiness is not served by clinging to anything but by letting go of everything. So taught Il Poverello, St Francis. In his latest sermon, Alban McCoy OFM Conv, describes the extreme lengths Francis went to in order to affirm his utter dependence on God. This was a radical, turn-the-world-upside-down letting go, a positive not a negative. For Francis, material poverty wasn’t about the things he didn’t possess, it was about banishing acquisitiveness and the futility of so many of our desires; it was freely chosen and turned him into the “patron of passion”.
(This newsletter was compiled with the help of Stephanie Bennett, editorial administrator of The Pastoral Review.)
Ruth Gledhill
