St Patrick’s Day vigil walk with Catholic and Anglican Archbishops of Armagh
A vigil walk by torchlight led by the Anglican Archbishop of Armagh, John McDowell, and the Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, Eamon Martin took place last night as part of the celebrations for St Patrick, whose feast day falls today. Residents and visitors joined them as they walked from the Anglican St Patrick’s Cathedral to the Roman Catholic Cathedral in the city, a reflection of St Patrick’s journey bringing people together. He is one of the most well-known saints in Christianity, famous for being the patron saint of Ireland, supposedly converting the island to the faith while ridding it of snakes. In modern times his saint’s day of 17 March has become a widely-marked celebration of fun and Irishness. Read our factsheet on St Patrick here.
Archbishop calls for end to law decriminalising abortion up to birth
Archbishop John Sherrington, the lead bishop for life issues for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, has called on the Lords to remove a clause decriminalising abortion for women up to the point of birth. The Lords are due to vote on this tomorrow as they consider the Crime and Policing Bill. The archbishop says the clause threatens the dignity of the unborn child and poses a threat to the child and the health of the mother. He also wants “pills-by-post” abolished, saying this has led to an increase in abortions in general and a number of late term at home abortions, putting the mother’s health in danger.
MPs call for more time for the assisted dying bill
More than 100 Labour MPs have called on Keir Starmer to give more time to the Assisted Dying Bill, which is stuck in the House of Lords. There are more than 1,200 amendments but only three more days left of time for debate, and if it fails to be put to the vote because it runs out of time, then the bill fails. Supporters of the bill blame the Lords for deliberately extending the debate in order to block the bill. But opponents say the bill is flawed and should not go through. If the bill is introduced in the Commons again, supporters could use the Parliament Act to force it through the Lords, a rare procedure for a private members bill. Meanwhile, the Scottish parliament is due to vote on its assisted dying bill today.
Church officer reports urgent need of humanitarian aid for people of Gaza
Israeli authorities have stopped emergency supplies from entering the Gaza strip, according to George Akroush, the director of the Development Office of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. He has told the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need that no humanitarian aid has gone in since Saturday 7 March. He reports that crossings into Gaza have been indefinitely closed for security reasons; aid organisations including Caritas, Oxfam and Save the Children, were told to comply with new rules or stop providing help for Palestinian communities in the West Bank and Gaza due to suspected links to Hamas and Islamic Jihad; Palestinians have lost their permits to work in Israel, including teachers; and he says Israeli soldiers have been filmed supporting settler attacks against Palestinian villages and towns. He said many Palestinians are resolved to leaving the country.
Quakers’ silent protest against police raid on Meeting House
Quakers will hold a silent protest, billed as an act of worship, outside New Scotland Yard today, followed by a mass lobby of parliament. This is a campaign against the Metropolitan Police’s raid on the Westminster Meeting House on 5 March, the second raid on a Quaker meeting house within a year. Officers arrested fifteen people attending a “nonviolent direct action training session”. No one has yet been charged, and the Quakers say that no one from the first raid was ever charged either. At the mass lobby, they will urge MPs to reject a clause in the Crime and Policing bill allowing police to consider the combined impact of multiple protests in the same area when deciding whether a new protest is likely to cause “serious disruption to the life of the community.” The lobby will include Amnesty International UK, Greenpeace, Liberty and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
Faith groups meet in Paris to coordinate billions in ethical investments
Representatives of 30 faith groups and faith networks will meet for a conference in Paris in April, to discuss coordinated investment decisions. The “Faith in the Common Good Forum” is being organised by the UK based Faith Invest organisation, and the Collège des Bernardins in Paris,whose President, Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, is also president of the Vatican Bank. The aim is to discuss how to collaborate to use their combined investments worth billions, for greater impact. religious forum on April 16 & 17to discuss how they can collaborate to use their combined investment power for greater impact. It’s the first time that religious groups – including 27 faith traditions from four religions – from around the world will come together to discuss coordinated action on investment decision.
Melanie Phillips publishes guide on confronting antisemitism
The columnist Melanie Phillips has issued advice to British Jews on how to cope with increasing levels of antisemitism. In an article in The Times, she cites a survey by the Union of Jewish Students suggesting one in five university students would be reluctant to share accommodation with a Jew. Forty per cent have witnessed Jewish students being harassed, and almost half have heard chants or slogans glorifying Hamas or Hezbollah. She also refers to an article in The Guardian where a writer said the opening of a Gail’s bakery 20 metres from a Palestinian cafe in north London was “an act of heavy-handed high-street aggression”, because Gail’s parent company had links to Israel. Faced with a normalisation of hatred against Jews, she has produced a book suggesting likely responses, and suggests park your anger and distress, don’t argue on your opponent’s ground, offer facts in return and use humour. Article is here
Petition launched to save Methodist student housing in Muswell Hill
A campaign is underway to save Chester House, a Methodist building which has housed around 160 students and young professionals for more than 60 years in Muswell Hill, north London. They say the supportive culture for the residents, some of whom are under 18, will be lost and the proposed closure conflicts with the Methodist values of social justice, hospitality, and practical support for those in need. A petition has been launched. Premier Christian News quotes a church spokesperson saying “the Council received legal, tax and regulatory advice confirming that continuing to operate the accommodation was no longer viable”. There were regulatory risks associated with running the facility and delaying the closure was not advisable. The church says it will support residents as they find other accommodation.
Open Iftar in Trafalgar Square as Ramadan approaches its close
Thousands of people attended an open iftar in Trafalgar Square last night, addressed by the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. These large events, marking the end of the day of fasting during Ramadan, started in 2022 and are run by the Ramadan Tent Project, to build community and interfaith understanding. This year they have been held at Horizon, the tallest building in the city of London, IKEA in Birmingam, the Guildhall in London, and Silverstone. Ramadan, the holy month where there is fasting from sunrise to sunset, ends on Thursday or Friday this week.
