250th Anniversary of Cork Church of Ireland housing charity; Ulster Covenant cathedral centenary service; C of I World Development Funding Allocations; Bill proposes full legal status for humanist weddings; Archbishop Martin favours St James’s as hospital site; Pregnant girl turned away from school; Protecting Protestant schools; Only a quarter of parents with children would opt to send them to a Church-run primary school; Parents reject Church-run schools but still want religion taught in class; Hundreds protest at papal nunciature against censuring of priests by Vatican; Fr Brian D’Arcy says he remains committed to the truth; Porn scandal priest to leave area
250th Anniversary of Cork Church of Ireland housing charity
A Church of Ireland housing charity, based in Mitchelstown, County Cork, celebrates 250 years tomorrow, Tuesday, 1st May, 2012. Kingston College in Mitchelstown has provided housing for retired people for the last 250 years.
Tomorrow the Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, the Right Reverend Paul Colton, will lead the celebrations in the College Chapel. A special Service will be attended by the residents, the current Trustees, former Trustees and invited guests, followed by a lunch hosted by the Trustees. The readers at the Service will be the Warden of the College (Mrs Carole Bradley) and the Secretary to the Charity (Mr Wilfred Baker).
The anniversary has been marked by the restoration of the two bells in the College Chapel and the restoration also of the weathervane on the Chapel roof. A short history of the charity’s 250 years written by Cork–based historian, Dr Alicia St Leger, will also be launched. Tomorrow also, a new chaplain the Reverend Michael Thompson will be installed and take up residence in Kingston College.
The College was established by James, fourth Baron Kingston, who died in 1761 and whose Will established the Charity and provided for the building of a chapel and surrounding houses. The dwellings were built originally to accommodate ‘poor decayed Gentlemen and Gentlewomen’, members of the Church of Ireland. However, since 1993, when the Kingston Charity Trust was established, accommodation has been offered also to people who are not members of the Church of Ireland. The houses and chapel were designed by architect John Morrison and completed by Oliver Grace. John Morrison’s son Richard and grandson William Vitruvius Morrison were renowned architects. Bishop Paul Colton said: Generations of men and women have lived and worshipped in the buildings that were created for their use through the generosity of this charity and the work of trustees during the last 250 years. This is Christian care in action.
Ulster Covenant cathedral centenary service
BBC – Several hundred members of the Orange Order attend a service in Belfast Cathedral to mark the centenary of the signing of the Ulster Covenant.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-17891032
C of I World Development Funding Allocations
In the first quarter of 2012 Bishops’ Appeal, the Church of Ireland’s vehicle for supporting the developing world, released a substantial amount of funding under its ‘Educate for Life’ scheme to support educational projects worldwide in the endeavour to alleviate poverty and suffering in communities across the globe.
€33,000 has been allocated to the Mother’s Union for Literacy Projects in Burundi and the Sudan, €33,000 to SAMS (South American Missions Society) for youth leadership programmes and higher level bursaries for impoverished students in Peru, and €33,000 to Tearfund for Church and community development projects in Myanmar. Several dioceses are raising funds for farming and educational projects in Haiti, Rwanda and Swaziland. Funds have also been directed to Friends of Hope for a HIV/AIDS programme in India (£19,434), to Aidlink for subsistence farmers in Uganda (€21,650) and to the Diocese of Shyogwe, Rwanda for school kitchens in a vocational school (€11,000).
The education and training people receive will have a direct impact on their food security, income generation, health and standard of living. This in turn is impacting on their input into other members of their communities. Bishops’ Appeal warmly thanks the generosity of the Church of Ireland which makes this kind of sustainable change possible.
Bill proposes full legal status for humanist weddings
Irish Times – The Irish government is expected to agree today (Tuesday May 1) to back legislation giving humanists the same status as organised religions and civil registrars in conducting marriage ceremonies.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/frontpage/2012/0501/1224315408779.html
Archbishop Martin favours St James’s as hospital site
Irish Times – In a fresh twist in the planning controversy, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin, who chairs the Crumlin hospital board, said it was fully convinced that developing the children’s facility along with a future maternity hospital at St James’s south city campus represented the best option for the care of children and the long-term interest of paediatrics.
St James’s Hospital, traditionally a Protestant teaching hospital associated with Trinity College, confirmed yesterday it had made a submission to the Government’s review group identifying a 6.3-hectare site on its campus that was available for the development of the children’s hospital.
It is understood representatives of St James’s Hospital last week met the review group chaired by Dr Frank Dolphin, which is looking at the implications of the decision by An Bord Pleanála to reject planning permission for the €650 million children’s facility on the north Dublin city Mater Hospital site.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0430/1224315362798.html
“Not a dumping ground”: Pregnant girl turned away from school
The girl was turned away from the Catholic ethos state school in Munster on two occasions – once when she was pregnant and again after she had given birth.
http://www.thejournal.ie/not-a-dumping-ground-pregnant-girl-turned-away-from-school-433812-Apr2012/
School should apologise:
Protecting Protestant schools
Letter from Senator Jimmy Harte in Irish Times
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2012/0430/1224315361439.html
Parents reject Church-run schools but still want religion taught in class
Only a quarter of parents with children would opt to send them to a Church-run primary school.
A survey has found 27% of parents would choose a primary school owned and managed by the Church. The remainder would opt for a Vocational Education Committee school, a multi-denominational school, or a state-run school.
Hundreds protest at papal nunciature against censuring of priests by Vatican
Irish Times – “These are all good theologians who have worked for the church for many years and we are here to show our solidarity with them.” Brendan Butler, a spokesman for We Are Church Ireland, which organised the vigil, said the Vatican had been heavy-handed in …
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0430/1224315363698.html
Fr Brian D’Arcy says he remains committed to the truth despite the Vatican’s …
Belfast Telegraph -He has spoken out against priests being unable to marry and has been a fierce critic of the Church’s handling of child abuse scandals. The Vatican’s move was initiated last year but only became public after a story appeared in Catholic newspaper, …
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/fr-brian-drsquoarcy-says-he-remains-committed-to-the-truth-despite-the-vaticanrsquos-displeasure-over-his-liberal-views-16151748.html
Porn scandal priest to leave area
Belfast Telegraph – Both Catholic church figures said he will leave the parish and take a break from his work, though the cardinal said the priest would return to the Diocese at some future date. The cardinal said computers at the parish were examined as part of an …
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/porn-scandal-priest-to-leave-area-16151510.html