Church news in the media – Ireland and Great Britain – Links. Including – Seventy Armagh couples say ‘I do’ for the second time : Buncrana murder widely condemned : Report confirms Catholic school closures : Belfast church building future secured : Archbishop pledges to tackle ‘outdated taboo’ of mental health : Dozens of ‘sham’ weddings halted : Occupy London : what went wrong? : Churches’ relationship with Jewish Community stressed: Roman Catholic church to allow Priests, Nuns to have sex.
Seventy couples say ‘I do’ for the second time
The News Letter
The spirit of St Valentine filled an Armagh church yesterday as 70 couples returned to renew their wedding vows. All those who had been married at St Mark’s Church of Ireland over the years had been invited by Canon John McKegney to attend a special service of thanksgiving.
Being the Sunday closest to Valentine’s Day the Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Rt Rev Ken Good, preached a sermon on the subject of love and marriage
More at: http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/local/seventy_couples_say_i_do_for_the_second_time_1_3516150
Buncrana murder widely condemned
Inishowen News
Bishop of Derry and Raphoe, Ken Good, described the killing as “an outrageous and inhuman act”. Bishop Good said: “Our community believes in the rule of law. We also stand for the sacredness of human life.
More at: http://www.inishowennews.com/012BuncranaDead064.htm
Report confirms Catholic school closures
BBC News
The Commission on Catholic Education has released a report confirming the closure of a number of schools within the Catholic maintained sector.
These include St Gemma’s in Belfast; St Peter’s, Londonderry; St Mary’s, Belleek; Drumcree College, Portadown and St Eugene’s in Castlederg.
The report also recommends the amalgamation of others, including grammar and secondary schools.
However, there is no deadline for the abandoning academic selection.
The commission had hoped that academic selection in Catholic grammar schools would end in 2012.
More at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-17010727
Belfast church building future secured on World Monument Watch List
Inside Ireland – Carlisle Memorial Methodist Church, Belfast, is to have its future secured on the World Monument Watch List,. Alex Attwood, Environment Minister, pledged £400,000 to secure this iconic Belfast building, situated at Carlisle Circus, North Belfast. The church was recognized as one of the world’s most endangered buildings in 2010, by the World Monuments Fund.
More at: http://insideireland.ie/2012/02/09/belfast-building-future-secured-on-world-monument-watch-list-54781/
Archbishop pledges to tackle ‘outdated taboo’ of mental health
Inspire Magazine
Synod members – bishops, clergy and laity from around the country – attended a fringe meeting on mental health at Church House on Thursday 9 February. The move comes after the Church of England developed a pack to help churches run services and …
More at: http://www.inspiremagazine.org.uk/news.aspx?action=view&id=5899
Dozens of ‘sham’ weddings halted
BBC News
Immigration officers prevented about 70 sham marriages in one month taking place by monitoring a busy city centre register office, it has emerged.
The UK Border Agency team burst in to prevent two weddings which involved men living in the country illegally.
The services were filmed by the BBC’s Inside Out Yorkshire programme as officers watched the register office at Leeds Town Hall.
Officers described their co-operation with registrars as “excellent”.
More at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-17005203
Occupy London: what went wrong?
The Guardian
It gave a voice to the usually ignored, but Occupy’s consensual model has seen it too often take the path of least resistance. “The situation had degenerated to the point where capitulation was only a matter of time. The cellars and corridors were now running with rats, the students themselves were now filthy and lice-ridden. The free-wheeling and lawless atmosphere had become a magnet for every dope-dealer, whore, minor criminal and apolitical, gormless hippie in Paris.”
So reads a passage from Andrew Hussey’s biography of the late situationist, agitator and theorist Guy Debord, which describes the fag-end of 1968’s legendary occupation of the Sorbonne.
More at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/feb/13/occupy-london-what-went-wrong
Importance of churches’ relationship with Jewish Community stressed
CTBI
Over the past 12 months a major item on the agenda of the Churches
Inter-Religious Network has been Jewish-Christian relations. This
included a one day consultation where the different churches met
together to share openly and honestly where they saw their own
relationships to the Jewish community. The result was a strong desire
to make a public statement about the importance of a strong
relationship between the churches and the Jewish community. This
statement can be downloaded at CTBI’s inter-faith page
More at: http://www.ctbi.org.uk/212#statement
Blog: Revd Peter Colwell write on Jewish-Christian Relations: Still
Committed to it – http://www.churchestogetherconnect.org/
Roman Catholic church to allow Priests, Nuns to have sex
ZimEye Zimbabwe
Missionary Priest Fr Shay Cullen who is of Irish origin has claimed that the church will soon abolish celibacy as he described it as a mere ‘business arrangement’ for the Catholic Church, rather than a commandment of God. Celibacy is a lifeless law …
More at: http://www.zimeye.org/?p=46519
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