The Prime Minister has called a General Election to be held in the United Kingdom on Thursday 4 July 2024. This is an opportunity for the Catholic community to exercise active citizenship and contribute to the building up of God’s Kingdom of “love, justice and peace”. (Gaudium et Spes, 39)
The Church does not tell people which party to vote for and, as our bishops reminded us prior to a previous election, “a general election must never be confused with a single-issue referendum” (The Common Good, 65), but the Church gives us the principles by which we can discern which candidate and which party will best advance the common good.
This month’s E-Bulletin contains resources that are designed to be useful to Christians preparing for the General Election on 4 July…
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With the UK general election due on Thursday, 4 July, politicians will be looking for our votes. We have a responsibility as Catholics to use our vote to make sure that parties commit to tackling issues such as poverty, injustice and human dignity. The Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) offer a guide to issues for the election www.cbcew.org.uk/election24/ as do CAFOD together with the Saint Vincent de Paul Society (SVP) cafod.org.uk/encounter. These sites provide information on a range of topics from a Catholic Christian perspective to help us ask key questions of local candidates and parties who need our votes. Please ensure you are registered to vote by 18 June and have suitable Photo ID, which you will need this year for the first time.
Creation Cries Out – Ecumenical Service: 11am, Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception (Farm Street Church), 114 Mount St, Mayfair, London, W1K 3AH. Includes children’s outdoor nature-based church.
You are invited to join us for the biggest ever march to protect the natural world and tackle the climate emergency. Westminster Justice & Peace will be gathering with thousands of others in London for a family-friendly, legal march to demand that UK politicians show strong domestic and global nature and climate leadership.
Why are we marching?
Creation is in crisis. Nature in the UK is in long-term decline and without radical change we’re set to lose even more precious habitats and species. That is why we’re joining a coalition of nature and climate organisations at a mass demonstration calling on politicians from all parties to act now for nature, people and climate.
The vision is for a huge creative, family-friendly and legal mass gathering with Chris Packham and other nature defenders in a united call to protect and restore our natural world.
It is an opportunity for some creative campaigning with speeches from activists and conservationists, as well as entertainers and performance artists, all highlighting the beauty of UK wildlife and the need to protect it.
Creation Cries Out Service
We’ll be meeting at 11am for a ecumenical service with nature-based messy church for children at the Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception, 114 Mount St, Mayfair, London W1K 3AH before leaving together to join the main march at noon. The Creation Cries Out service is a collaboration between A Rocha UK, Green Christian, Christian Climate Action, and Operation Noah and other groups.
Join us to add your voice to the call to halt biodiversity decline and stabilise our climate for the benefit of all future generations.
Restore Nature Now March and Rally
After the service we will join the Restore Nature Now mass demonstration.
Through Restore Nature Now a wide-range of dozens of nature, wildlife and climate groups from the RSPB to Butterfly Conservation and Woodland Trust are joining together, united in calls for politicians to support action to restore nature by:
Providing more funding to ensure a nature-friendly farming approach
Making polluters pay for the damage they do to the environment
Creating more space for nature by expanding and improving protected areas and public land
Putting a legal right to a healthy environment in law – clean air and water and access to nature for all communities
Delivering fair and effective climate action that means we at least halve UK emissions by 2030.
More than 10,000 people took part in a peaceful, last-minute rally in Downing Street yesterday, (Tuesday 28 May), in response to Israel’s horrific attacks on the tented refugee camp in Rafah, southern Gaza yesterday, which killed at least 50 people, mostly women and children, and injured hundreds more.
Speakers demanded an immediate halt to all arms sales to Israel and called for Israel to follow the ICJ Directives. They praised the Jewish peace demonstrators in Israel and all the students who have risen up around the world appealing for an end to the onslaught and justice for the Palestinian people.
One campaigner said: “Our government and the Labour leadership have provided support for Israel as it commits genocide. They have blood on their hands.”
Among the crowds were several representatives from Christians for Palestine.
Colette Joyce from Westminster Diocese Justice and Peace told ICN: “We cannot carry on being complicit while unprotected civilians die in tent camps from military strikes, after having been moved many times already, in search of safety in Gaza.
“We stood outside Number 10 Downing Street today with our banner saying: ‘Blessed are the Peacemakers’ – because our shared humanity calls out for a better response, one that does not ask the most vulnerable to pay the highest price.”
Join us on Sunday, 9 June, at St John’s in Waterloo, London, from 1 pm – 4 pm, to kick off the Great Big Green Week. Featuring face-painting, a treasure hunt, recycling rounders, a butterfly puzzle, clothes & toy swap stalls, music, dance, a photo exhibition, and more. Bring a plant-based picnic to share!
Do you want to know what “climate justice” means? Are you keen to find out how a justice-centered approach addresses the climate crisis? Are you looking for a welcoming space where you can bring your unique spiritual and/or religious motivations to tackle the climate emergency? If you’re based in the UK, these workshops are designed to help you address these questions and be part of a community of action.
25 May, 10.30am-3.00pm: CARJ 40th Anniversary Event Amigo Hall at St George’s Cathedral London SE1 7H.CARJ was established 40 years ago on 16 June 1984 at a meeting of approximately 25 ‘founding members’ from a variety of ethnic backgrounds. To mark this important anniversary, CARJ are launching a new ‘Racial Justice Agenda for Change.’ Open to all and free to attend, with lunch served and a Sung Mass to end the day at 3.00pm. Email your interest to info@carj.org.ukhttps://www.carj.org.uk/
25 May, 3.00pm: CARJ 40th Anniversary Mass St George’s Cathedral Southwark, Westminster Bridge Road, SE1 7HY. https://www.carj.org.uk/
Kew Gardens, Victoria Gate, TW9 3JR, United Kingdom (map)
All are welcome to join the Justice and Peace Outing to Kew Gardens on Sunday 2nd June 2024
Join Fr Dominic Robinson SJ and Colette Joyce on an exploration of the world famous botanical gardens to see Marc Quinn’s sculpture exhibition, ‘Light and Life’. All are welcome. No prior connection to Justice & Peace needed!
Marc Quinn has long been interested in the links between nature and humanity, and this exhibition brings that complex relationship to life. The mirrored effect of many of the stainless-steel sculptures blurs the boundaries between the viewer, the sculpture and the landscape, giving every visitor a unique experience of the artworks. Their reflection encourages viewers to see themselves as a part of the artwork and a part of the landscape.
Please purchase your own tickets in advance via the Kew website (there are different pricing options) or on arrival.
The meeting point is just inside the ticket barriers at the Victoria Gate entrance at 12.30pm where we will begin the day with prayers and a picnic lunch.
We will have lunch together near the Victoria Gate café. Drinks, sandwiches and cakes are available to purchase in the café or bring a picnic with you.
Please contact Colette Joyce – colettejoyce@rcdow.org.uk/ 07593 434 905 – or Fr Dominic Robinson – dominicrobinson@rcdow.org.uk / 07840 868 568 – to let us know you are coming or just join us on the day. Call us on arrival if you have any difficulty finding us!
Christians For Palestine will be praying and marching again on Saturday, 18 May, for peace in the Holy Land.
76 years since the Nakba began, it is still happening right now with increasing violence. Palestinians are still being slaughtered every day in Gaza and occupied Palestine, and new atrocities by the Israeli military and settlers continue to emerge.
People in Gaza are being ordered to “evacuate”, but with nowhere safe to go, evacuation is really a death march to neighbourhoods already obliterated by the bombing. There are no safe places. No aid whatsoever has entered Gaza for days and people are starving to death. This has to stop. The people in power must be forced to make it stop.
Despite the ICJ ruling and a UN security council resolution calling for a ceasefire, the UK covenant continues to arm Israel, in violation of international law.
So once again we demand a permanent ceasefire and immediate suspension of all UK arms contracts with Israel.
We’re walking a shorter section of the route this time to make it more accessible
All are warmly invited to join Westminster Justice and Peace to pray for peace in the Holy Land and other war-torn countries on the eve of Pentecost, Saturday 18th May 2024 at 8.00pm.
The Chaplet of the Holy Spirit was composed in 1892 by a Franciscan Capuchin missionary of the English province in order to give the faithful a means of honouring the third person of the Trinity. It was approved by Pope Leo XIII in 1902.
This Rosary consists of five groups of seven beads each. In each group, the ‘Glory be to the Father’ is said on the seven small beads and an Our Father and a Hail Mary on the two large beads. There are three beads at the beginning for the Sign of the Cross, an Act of Contrition and the hymn ‘Come Holy Ghost’.
There is a mystery for each of the five groups, commemorating the Five Wounds of Jesus , which are the fountains of grace which the Holy Spirit imparts to all.
Mary Pierre-Harvey from St Michael and St Martin Parish, Hounslow, will lead us through the Chaplet.
To join us, please register with Eventbrite or contact the Justice and Peace Co-ordinator, Colette Joyce, on colettejoyce@rcdow.org.uk
Bishop John Sherrington, Lead Bishop for Life Issues for the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, has released a statement on the Criminal Justice Bill expressing his deep concern about two tabled amendments that seek to liberalise abortion laws. They are set to be debated next week.
Bishop Sherrington also voiced his support for two other tabled amendments, one of which would reduce the abortion time limit and the other that would not allow babies with Down syndrome to be aborted up to birth.
Bishop Sherrington’s full statement is below:
Four amendments have been submitted to the Criminal Justice Bill which relate to the protection of unborn babies and will be debated on 15 May.
I support the amendment from Caroline Ansell MP (New Clause 15) that would reduce the abortion time limit to 22 weeks. As a result of advances in medical practices many babies can now survive if born at 22 or 23 weeks’ gestation. I hope that parliamentarians will support this amendment.
Likewise, I call on parliamentarians to support the amendment tabled by Sir Liam Fox MP (New Clause 41), which will bring an end to the situation whereby babies diagnosed with Down syndrome can be aborted up to birth. This would be a step towards ending the discrimination against babies diagnosed with a disability in our current abortion law.
However, I am deeply alarmed by two amendments to the same Bill, one of which is proposed by Dame Diana Johnson MP (New Clause 1). This amendment, if passed, will remove any legal protection for unborn babies when a woman seeks to bring about her own abortion at any stage of pregnancy. A further danger presented by this amendment is that women could abort their own pregnancies at home through the use of abortion pills at any point in the pregnancy, which could seriously endanger a woman’s health and life. Moreover, the risks of coerced or forced abortion would only increase as the legal safeguards around abortion decrease.
The second amendment by Stella Creasy MP (New Clause 40) includes proposals to decriminalise abortion up to the 24th week for any party involved and carries similar threats to pregnant women and their unborn babies.
The Church recognises the struggle and trauma which may lead some pregnant women to consider an abortion. Such difficult situations require pastoral and medical care for vulnerable women in their time of need. When cases of illegal abortions are prosecuted, it is for the judge to decide the appropriate balance of justice and mercy for all involved.
Our current legislation provides some level of protection for pregnant mothers and unborn babies by keeping abortion within the criminal law. Relaxing abortion legislation further would be a tragic mistake for both mother and child.
As Pope Francis has said: “It is troubling to see how simple and convenient it has become for some to deny the existence of a human life as a solution to problems that can and must be solved for both the mother and her unborn child”. In England and Wales, both unborn child and pregnant mother deserve full protection under our laws, as some of the most vulnerable in our society.
I encourage people to contact their MPs to make their views clear on these amendments.
Bishop John Sherrington
Lead Bishop for Life Issues and Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster
Quakers in Britain, CAFOD, SCIAF and Christian Aid have joined around 30 other charities calling on the UK government to take meaningful action to stop any further attacks on Rafah in Southern Gaza by the Israeli military.
On Monday, the Israeli military issued relocation orders to people sheltering in parts of Rafah. Israeli tanks have entered the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, blocking completely the passage for people and humanitarian aid.
Text of Statement
London, 7 May 2024.
The UK Government has repeatedly asked Israel not to unleash a slaughter in Rafah, Gaza.
Foreign Secretary, Lord Cameron is “very concerned about what is happening in Rafah” and knows “it is impossible to fight a war amongst all these people. There is nowhere for them to go.”
Deputy Foreign Secretary, Andrew Mitchell thinks that, “an Israeli incursion will struggle to be compliant with international law.”
Middle East Minister, Lord Ahmad said that, “the fighting must stop now, in order to get the hostages home.”
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister acknowledges that, “too many innocent civilians have died in Gaza.”
David Cameron also asked Israel for a ‘Plan B’ for Rafah to ensure, “people can achieve safety, get food, medicine and water, and that people are kept safe.”
They have been ignored by Israel.
Yesterday, the Israeli military issued relocation orders to people sheltering in parts of Rafah, the first step towards a full-scale invasion that will most likely kill thousands of civilians. The area people are being directed to is already overstretched and lacks the capacity and resources to accommodate the number of people seeking refuge. The relocation orders lack guarantees of safety and the right to return, which risk violating International law.
In the last 12 hours, Israel has intensely bombed Rafah, including civilian homes and areas marked as safe. This morning, Israeli tanks entered the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, blocking completely the passage for people and humanitarian aid.
There are no safe spaces in Gaza. Israel has repeatedly attacked so-called ‘safe zones’, killing displaced people. Any claims from Israel that civilians can be safely relocated have no credibility.
The failure of our leaders to back words with meaningful action is glaring. As the 1.4 million people in Rafah face attacks that our leaders know would be catastrophic, they must finally act to stop the slaughter.
The UK must work urgently to stop any further assault on Rafah from going ahead, demand an immediate lasting ceasefire, resume funding to UNRWA, and suspend arms sales to Israel for as long as there is a risk they may be used to violate international law.
A ceasefire is the only way to stop the death and destruction, get more aid to those who desperately need it, and safely release the hostages.
There is no Plan B for the people in Rafah.
Signed:
1. Action For Humanity
2. ActionAid UK
3. Amos Trust
4. Bond
5. CAFOD
6. Care International UK
7. Christian Aid
8. Council for Arab-British Understanding
9. Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Diocese of Westminster Justice and Peace Commission 