Bill to allow assisted dying goes before the Commons
Labour MP Kim Leadbeater is putting forward a private members bill to allow assisted dying, with a debate and vote expected before Christmas. The Prime Minister has promised a free vote on the issue. It is expected to be similar to a bill going through the Lords, which would allow terminally ill adults with six months or fewer to live, to get medical help to end their own lives and would apply only to people “mentally able to make the decision”. Two doctors and the high court would have to approve. Ms Leadbeater says she does not regard this as a “slippery slope” and pointed to safeguards and protections in place in other countries which have prevented the law being widened. MPs last voted on the issue in 2015 when it was rejected, but commentators suggest the new intake of Labour MPs may vote this through. The Lords rejected similar legislation in 2005 and 2021, when bishops voted against.
Law Commission consultation could mean graves are re-used
The Law Commission has launched a consultation on a proposed overhaul of legislation on burial grounds, as there is a shortage of space in overcrowded cemeteries. It could mean that graves may be reopened and reused to bury the dead, in all types of burial grounds, including the Church of England’s cemeteries and churchyards. The Law Commission says reform is overdue with much of the legislation governing cemeteries dating from the second half of the nineteenth century, which has developed piecemeal since then. The Commission said that cemeteries were at risk of falling into ruin or becoming sites for anti-social behaviour if changes are not made.
Catholic synod in Rome told “no positive decision” on women deacons
Speculation regarding further theological study into the possibility of women being ordained as deacons in the Catholic church, has been firmly knocked back on the opening day of the “Synod on Synodality” in Rome. Crux Now reports that Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, told the Synod that despite two commissions on the female diaconate, there is no room for a positive decision on deacons, but women’s role within the church will continue to be explored in a study group. The Synod is a process launched by Pope Francis in 2021, in which Catholics across the globe, clergy and lay, gathered to give their views on issues of concern and one of the main questions was the place of women in the church. Last year more than 350 representatives including women, held their first global meeting and there was great hope that the synod would open the door to women deacons. But the announcement confirmed an earlier statement from the Pope, that the issue of women deacons is off the table.
Independent school ends relationship with Catholic church to become simply “Christian”
The Catholic independent school Prior Park College, in Bath, is to become a Christian school, ending a relationship spanning almost 200 years with the Catholic Church. The headmaster, Ben Horan, said 18 per cent of existing students came from Catholic backgrounds and many families had “expressed frustration over the restrictive nature of being a Catholic school and the limited educational choices and outcomes that come with that”. The Bath Echo reports that the school’s support for Pride had led to criticism by some as contrary to Catholic teaching. Mr Horan said families and young people have an open-minded and inclusive view of religion today, but they appreciate the school’s faith values. He made clear that the process began three years ago long before the proposed introduction of VAT on school fees. He said: “By removing the constraints that come from being a Catholic school, such as no longer having to compel all our students to study Religious Education to GCSE Level, we can ensure that Prior Park College remains competitive at a time when the private school sector faces unprecedented challenges.” He added that several other Catholic private schools had contacted them to find out how they went about the change and to ask for our guidance and support. Bath Echo report here.
Cardinal in Jerusalem calls for a day of prayer for peace on Monday 7th October
The leading Catholic cleric in Israel, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, has called for a day of prayer, penance and fasting for peace in the Holy Land on Monday, 7 October. The Cardinal, who is the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, has described the conflicts in the region as a “vortex of violence and hatred never seen or experienced before”. He described the tragedies of the past 12 months as having “deeply lacerated our conscience and our sense of humanity.” Church leaders have repeatedly called for an end to the war and for a solution that takes into account the demands of justice, dignity and security for all. He said Christians have a duty to work for peace and not to have feelings of hatred. The violence had “struck a blow to the common feeling of belonging to the Holy Land”, and had made the land “a reservoir of hatred and contempt, of mutual rejection and annihilation.” The Pope has also called for Monday to be a day of prayer for peace and Cardinal Vincent Nichols has echoed this call.
‘Muslims Don’t Matter’ according to Baroness Syeeda Warsi
Baroness Syeeda Warsi’s latest book Muslims Don’t Matter charts “the normalisation of Islamophobia in Britain” and severely criticises her former party, the Conservatives, for systematically marginalising Muslim concerns and failing to engage with credible community leaders. She was appointed by David Cameron to the shadow cabinet, made a life peer in 2007 and became the first Muslim woman in the cabinet and co-chair of the Conservative Party in 2010. But last month she resigned from the party saying racists have become mainstream. In her book she says needs to explain how British Muslims feel – unwelcome, targeted, suffering rhetoric from politicians, othered by the media, regarded as the enemy. She says: “We feel unprotected and scared, mistrusted, misrepresented, stereotyped and stigmatised and Islamophobia feels overwhelming”. She is “relieved and grateful” that the Tories lost power and hopes Labour do better in acting on a report about anti Muslim hatred. Guardian review here
Obituary for Michael Ancram, first Catholic to be elected as a Scottish Conservative MP
The Catholic Herald has an obituary for Michael Ancram, former Conservative MP, the 13th Marquess of Lothian, and member of a Catholic family in Scotland who converted to Catholicism in the wake of the Oxford Movement. He was called to the Scottish bar and then turned to politics, becoming the first Catholic to be elected as a Scottish Conservative MP, and then, on losing his seat, went on to represent Devizes in Wiltshire. He served as minister for political development in Northern Ireland and as the Conservatives’ party chairman, deputy leader and shadow foreign secretary. He died after a short illness on 1 October and has been succeeded in his hereditary titles by his brother, Ralph, vice president of the Order of Malta. The present Marquess’s youngest son, Lord Hugh Kerr, was until recently a member of the Catholic Herald editorial team.
