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SAVE THE DATE: Thursday 25 February at 6.30pm
Catholic Union Webinar on “Theology and the Scandals of Abuse”.  A talk by Fr Michael Holman SJ. A Zoom link will be circulated shortly before the event.


Catholic Union Head of Public Affairs, James Somerville-Meikle, writes:
 
Early February might be a little early to start guessing the themes that will dominate the year ahead (apart from Covid!) but I have a feeling that freedom of expression will feature heavily. This week saw the European Court of Human Rights reject as inadmissible an application to consider whether a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) used by Ealing Council to ban certain activities taking place around an abortion centre was in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. The decision is a set back to campaigners, who had hoped a ruling from the Strasbourg Court could be used to challenge these so-called “buffer zones”, which are now being used by a number of councils. The Catholic Union expressed our concerns about the use of PSPOs to ban people praying near abortion clinics in our evidence to Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights, who are carrying out an inquiry into freedom of expression. This relates to similar work being carried out by the Law Commission and legislation being considered by the Scottish Parliament on hate speech. In addition to the Online Harms Bill, expected later this year on social media regulation, it’s clear that questions about what constitutes legitimate expression in society today is under intense scrutiny. The Catholic Union will continue to make the case for freedom of conscience and expression, not just for our benefit, but for the good of everyone.
 
Follow us on Twitter @CatholicUnionGB
 
BBC:
 
How many Catholics appeared on Thought for the Day last year? Seven Catholic commentators appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Thought for the Day in 2020. Research from the Catholic Union has found that out of 312 episodes of the regular Today programme slot last year – Catholics featured 35 times, representing just over 11 per cent of contributions.
 
COVID:
 
Churches in Scotland remain closed until mid-February. The Scottish Government’s Communities Secretary, Aileen Campbell MSP, has said the current closures of places of worship “will be necessary until mid-February” despite stating  that “it is difficult to say with any degree of certainty where an individual has contracted the virus”. Her comments were made in a letter to Catholic Union President, Sir Edward Leigh MP, in response to his call for the Scottish Government to publish evidence for their decision to close places of worship again last month. No evidence for the decision has yet been produced.
 
Have your say on Covid impact. Two surveys have been launched recently on the experience of Christians during lockdown – one by York St John University and another one by St John of God Hospitaller Services, in partnership with Caritas Social Action Network, is looking specifically at how Catholic communities can be supported as they get older.
 
FAITH IN POLITICS:
 
Calling all young Christians. Christians in Politics annual 'The Next Step' event will be taking place virtually on Wednesday 10 February from 5-6pm. The event is a chance for students to explore the opportunities for them to be involved in the political sphere after graduation. There will be contributions from MPs from all sides of the house and graduate scheme representatives about what working in politics is like, why Christians are called to this sphere and the opportunities for graduates to be involved in Government and politics through their career. Register for the event here.
 
Quant je puis. Sir Bill Cash MP has given an interview to the Catholic Herald in which he talks about how his faith has sustained him during his 37 years in the House of Commons. “I have always been aware of the role that my religion has played in my political life” he says. Sir Bill was educated at Stonyhurst in Lancashire and says the school’s motto  “Quant je puis"  (as much as I can) inspired him in his career choices.
 
GENOCIDE:
 
Anyone for ping pong? The Government was defeated in the House of Lords on its Trade Bill, with peers backing a move to stop the UK doing deals with countries that abuse human rights. The amendment would give the High Court the right to determine if genocide has been committed. A similar amendment was narrowly rejected by the House of Commons last month. It creates the prospect of the amendment – along with other changes to the Bill made by Peers – going back to the Commons for further consideration, in what is officially referred to in Westminster as “ping pong” between the two Houses of Parliament. Watch this space…
 
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
 
Aid cut will hurt the world’s poorest. Catholic Union Director, Nigel Parker, and Head of Public Affairs, James Somerville-Meikle attended a virtual meeting this week with CAFOD Director Christine Allen and members of parliament from both Houses and all religious denominations on the impact of the Covid pandemic and the Government’s overseas aid reductions. The meeting, organised by Whitehouse Consultancy Chairman, Chris Whitehouse, in his capacity as Secretary of the Catholic Legislators’ Network, was chaired by Labour MP, Catherine McKinnell. A recording of the meeting can be found here

A summary of CAFOD's campaign Reclaim Our Common Home is here and the report of the parliamentary International Development Committee on "Covid-19 in developing countries: secondary impacts", described in The Universe this week as "the ticking time bomb" is here.
 
LIFE:
 
New concerns for babies with Down’s Syndrome. Right to Life UK has warned the number of babies with Down’s Syndrome aborted is likely to increase following a decision announced by Public Health England to introduce a new controversial screening test across the NHS from June 2021. Public Health England announced that the non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) technique called ‘cell-free DNA’ (cfDNA) will be available as an additional test in all health boards in England. More information here.
 
Have your say on at-home abortions. Two consultations on whether to make temporary changes allowing at-home abortions to become permanent close later this month. Right to Life is running an online email campaign to contact your MP about this.
 
Now read this… Conservative MP, Sally-Ann Hart has written in Conservative Home about the dangers of making at-home abortions permanent. Her article can be found here.

Two new trustees have joined the board of Right to Life UK, lawyer Helen Freely and Catholic Union Vice-President and former Labour MP Robert Flello. See here.
 
MIGRATION:
 
Bad to worse at Napier Barracks. A deputy High Court judge has ordered that an asylum seeker be urgently rehoused from Napier barracks in Kent as his psychological wellbeing has ‘significantly worsened’ since being positioned at the location. He has now obtained a courtroom injunction that states he has to be rehoused.
 
Meanwhile… The House of Commons Home Affairs Select Committee has taken evidence this week from people, including Dr Jill O'Leary of the Helen Bamber Foundation, who claimed "the barracks needs to be evacuated immediately for the safety of all concerned."
 
Petition on Maira Shahbaz presented to Special Envoy. A petition signed by over 12,300 people calling on the UK to grant asylum to 14-year-old Maira Shahbaz and her family, had been presented to the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, Fiona Bruce MP. Aid to the Church in Need have been helping to raise the profile of Maira, a Christian girl from Pakistan, who was abducted, drugged, gang raped and blackmailed.

PRISONS

The Benedict XVI Centre at St. Mary's University, together with the Catholic Social Action Network and the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, are hosting an evening discussion on Punishment and Prisons in the 21st Century with Bishop Richard Moth and Rev Jonathan Aitken, chaired by Professor Philip Booth. The event will take place on Wednesday 10 February 2021 at 6.00pm-7.15pm by zoom. There is more information and a link to registration here or you can register directly here.

RIP 

Fr Mark Langham's Requiem Mass will now take place at Westminster Cathedral at 11.30am (not 12.30 as previously announced).

TRAFFICKING

MONDAY 8 FEBRUARY is the feast of St Josephine Bakhita and the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking.  Thalita Kum, the International Network of Consecrated Life against Trafficking in Persons is inviting all Christians to participate in an online Prayer Marathon.  For more details see here.

EVENTS

Tuesday 9 February at 7pm
Joanna Bogle is giving a talk on Zoom to the Friends of Westminster Cathedral on The Marian Shrines of England. Tickets £5.  To attend, pay online at https://tinyurl.com/FRIENDS-VMG and email friends@rcdow.org.uk for the Zoom link.

Wednesday 10 February at 1pm
How Do Farmed Animals Flourish?’ Webinar organised by CEFAW (Christian Ethics for Farmed Animal Welfare, a research project at the University of Chester) with presentations from members of the research team Dr David Grumett and Professor Siobhan Mullan.

Wednesday 10 February at 6pm
Punishment and Prisons in the 21st century.  Event at St Mary's Twickenham.  See "Prisons" above.

Tuesday 23 February at 7.30pm
Pope Francis and Social Justice.  Austen Ivereigh begins a series of six talks organised by the Edinburgh Jesuit Centre.  For the full programme, see here.

Thursday 25 February at 6.30pm
Theology and the Scandals of Abuse. A Catholic Union webinar with Fr Michael Holman SJ who will address the question – “Were there features of our life together which somehow contributed to a culture in which abuse could happen and also be covered up by some Church authorities?”  A Zoom link will be circulated shortly before the event.
 
If you’re a Catholic charity, or if you work in parliamentary/public affairs, and you would like us to flag specific items in this newsletter, please send the information to: info@catholicunion.org.uk
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