Westminster Justice and Peace will be joining Christians for Palestine and representatives from other Christian groups to take part in this national action for Palestine outside of Parliament on Wednesday 4th June 2025, during Prime Minister’s Questions.
The organisers say: “Last week, the UK government announced a suspension of trade negotiations with Israel and sanctions on a limited number of individuals. It is too little and too late, especially given that Israel has clearly stated, and has shown over the past days, that it intends to deepen its genocide. However, as Israel openly uses starvation as a weapon of war, cracks are appearing in the political establishment. Now is the time to put pressure on the Government, MPs and Parliament to act.
People will begin to assemble at 11.30am around parliament to coincide with Prime Minister’s Questions at noon. Dress in red and join others holding a fabric red line to encircle parliament.”
Look for us outside Methodist Central Hall, Storey’s Gate, London, SW1H 9NH, at 11.00am.
Westminster Justice and Peace Pilgrims arriving at Westminster Cathedral. Photo: RCDOW
“Pilgrimage is of course a fundamental element of every Jubilee event. Setting out on a journey is traditionally associated with our human quest for meaning in life. A pilgrimage on foot is a great aid for rediscovering the value of silence, effort and simplicity of life. In the coming year, pilgrims of hope will surely travel the ancient and more modern routes in order to experience the Jubilee to the full.” (Spes Non Confundit, 5)
A group from Westminster Justice and Peace completed the Westminster Way Pilgrimage for the Holy Year on Thursday 29th May 2025, the Feast of the Ascension.
Setting out from English Martyrs Roman Catholic Church, 30 Prescot Street, London, E1 8BB, at 11.00am, the pilgrims visited five other churches along the way, finishing with Westminster Cathedral at around 4.15pm.
At each station we heard reflected on saints connected to London and the inspiration they continue to be for us today – St John Houghton and The Carthusian Martyrs of the Reformation, the missionary St Augustine of Canterbury, St Anne Line who sheltered priests and held secret Masses in her home during the Elizabethan persecution, St Erconwald, St Ethelburga and St Etheldreda, the scholars of the 7th Century who brought learning and education to both men and women, and St John Henry Newman whose own spiritual journey of conversion and prophetic sense of the nature of the Church had a profound influence on the 20th century leading up to the Second Vatican Council.
We also passed by the Tower of London and stood sombrely on the site of the scaffold where St John Fisher and St Thomas More were executed, among others.
As we were walking during Laudato Si’ Week, pilgrim leader Colette Joyce also invited pilgrims to reflect on the flora and fauna of London as we went along. London is a surprisingly green city, blessed with around twenty percent tree coverage – which makes it technically a forest! We are especially grateful to the Victorians who planted the ubiquitous London Plane trees which can be found in streets and parks all over the city, while there are over 400 other species of tree to discover.
“The entire material universe speaks of God’s love, his boundless affection for us. Soil, water, mountains: everything is, as it were, a caress of God… contemplation of creation allows us to discover in each thing a teaching which God wishes to hand on to us.” (Laudato Si’, 84-85)
On arrival at the Cathedral, the weary walkers were greeted by the Cathedral Dean, Fr Slawomir Witoń. We ended our pilgrimage with prayers in the Martyrs Chapel and a reflection from Fr Slawomir on the life and witness of St John Southworth, patron saint of clergy in the Diocese of Westminster.
The pilgrims received the final stamp in their Pilgrim Passports and a blessing before returning home.
l-r: Fr Michael Baggot, Jen Copestake, Fr Dominic Robinson, Dr Karen Singarayer, Matthew Sanders. Image: Diocese of Westminster
Dr Philip Crispin
From the outset of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV has explained how the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) inspired the choice of his papal name.
Speaking to the College of Cardinals after his election, he said: “I chose to take the name Leo XIV. There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution.”
“In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice, and labour.”
With serendipitous timing, the Catholic Union, in collaboration with Farm Street Church, Mayfair, hosted a panel discussion last Sunday 18th May entitled ‘AI, Faith and Ethics at a Crossroads: Discerning the Way Forward’ which explored the moral and spiritual challenges in this time of technological transformation. The event was convened and chaired by Farm Street Parish Priest, Fr Dominic Robinson SJ.
In her opening remarks, Dr Karen Singarayer, Vice-Chair of the Catholic Union of Great Britain, highlighted the opportunities and risks of the development of AI. She said: “The artificial intelligence revolution holds both promise and peril. The AI revolution seems to be impacting not only manual labourers but also professionals. The written word, once the exclusive realm of the human mind, is now increasingly the domain of machines. Video and audio too are more and more frequently AI-generated. Professions that long commanded social respect as learned or creative vocations now seem vulnerable in the face of the machine.”
She added: “These developments prompt us to ask difficult questions – what does it mean to be truly present to another human being? How are relationships, education, healthcare, and even evangelisation being reshaped by the advent of AI?”
Dr Singarayer paid tribute to the late Pope Francis as the leading moral voice regarding AI. He was ever mindful of the common good she said and noted his warning about the catastrophic consequences of allowing instruments of war to develop way beyond human oversight.
Jen Copestake, Correspondent at China Global Television Network Europe, said: “AI is no longer a matter of speculation; it is deeply embedded in all of our lives. We stand at a crossroads-not just technological, but moral and philosophical. As AI becomes more capable, present and even humanlike, the question is not just what it can do, but what should we do.”
She pointed to the pitfalls of AI which was not always programmed to embrace human diversity and posed the question whether soul-less machines with no human history could replicate human empathy and dignity.
Ms Copestake cited a prediction that, by 2030, 375 million workers globally would be forced to migrate or ‘transition’ and recollected that in Laudato Si Pope Francis had insisted that technological change should never render a person obsolete.
She spoke of the “seismic effect” of a predicted 70 per cent of jobs being transformed by AI and the imperative of protecting workers and the meaning behind the work they did which might, as Pope Francis had pondered, necessitate the move to introducing a universal basic income in order to preserve human dignity.
Furthermore, she continued, it was necessary to work upon improving the ecological impact of AI which was dependent on massive energy consumption. According to Catholic social teaching on ethical stewardship, harnessing the world’s resources should be sustainable not extractive.
Speaking on AI’s use in Evangelisation, Matthew Harvey Sanders, CEO of Longbeard, Creator of Magisterium AI, said: “What we found is that there’s a lot of people out there who aren’t ready to step into a church and talk to a priest or share their concerns, but they are ready to test their problem, their query out on a chatbot. . . . This isn’t a question of trying to replace the priest at all. It’s just recognizing where people are at. . . . We’ve seen testimonials of people who started a journey to the church or had misconceptions clarified. It’s been a beautiful project.”
He hailed the accelerated polyglot digitization of the Church’s library holdings and the World’s first Catholic language AI model Ephrem designed to offer deep insights into the teachings of the Church.
Fr Michael Baggot, Professor of Theology at Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas, Rome, spoke about how the Church is founded upon relationship, with God and each other. He said: “We are masters of communion. We are masters of relationship. We follow a God of relationship, not a solitary God, but a God who is eternal exchange of interpersonal love. If we’re made in the image of that God, we are called into being by a God of communion for communion-with that God and with the other persons made in the image of that God. We were made for interpersonal communion.”
The Church, he said, is “expert in humanity'” adding “I hope we know how to accompany people and their most profound needs.”
He warned against the abuses of AI’s virtual world, seductive and damaging as it moved from an attention economy to an affection economy but was lacking in compassion and an interior life.
Fr Baggot warned, too, against the possibility of “outsourcing” moral agency. While AI worked with data and statistical patterns it should never replace human responsibility. The Church insisted on equity, sexual and racial, he said.
Responding to audience questions, the panel hoped that greater efficiency through AI could liberate from certain forms of toil but feared that job losses could lead to social unrest and scapegoating. They feared, too, information overdrive and saturation.
AI should never replace the gift of humanity and personhood, underscored by the fundamental truth of the incarnational God, who took on our human flesh and blood, and served ‘fleshly’ human beings. Rather AI should be based upon human wisdom. Now was the time for discernment.
Colette Joyce, our Co-ordinator, attended this Service on behalf of Westminster Justice and Peace.
The Temple Church in London and Co-Cathedral of the Most Holy Name of Jesus in Jerusalem were the settings for an historic simultaneous ecumenical service on Tuesday 20th May 2025, marking the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. The event featured a livestream broadcast from the two churches and shown on screens.
At the Council of Nicaea, in the year 325, church leaders formally assembled to agree on Christian doctrine and endorse the Nicene Creed.
The choice of the Temple Church for this event was particularly significant. It was built in 1162 to recreate the Rotunda of the Holy Sepulchre, or Anastasis, in Jerusalem, commissioned by Constantine soon after the Council of Niceae.
Organisers at the Temple church said yesterday’s service was planned “to bring us all together in unity to pray for peace in the midst of the current troubles in the Holy Land and in our shared concern for the founding communities of our faith.”
As the clergy processed into both churches the Temple Singers led the hymn: Jerusalem the Golden.
In London, Cardinal Vincent Nichols welcomed those present with a blessing. He then delivered a message prepared for the occasion by the late Pope Francis in which he prayed for peace in the Holy Land and prayed this “commendable initiative” which he said “bears eloquent witness to the rich religious tapestry that characterises the land of Our Saviour’s birth and calls attention too the enduring desire for peace held dear by its citizen’s today.”
In Jerusalem Cardinal Pizzabella welcomed everyone in the first words of Pope Leo XIV as Pope:
“Peace be with all of you!”
He said: “Dearest brothers and sisters, this is the first greeting of the Risen Christ, the good shepherd who gave his life for God’s flock . I too would like this greeting of peace to enter your hearts, to reach your families, and all people whoever they are, all of the people all over the earth.
This is the peace of the Risen Christ, an unarmed peace and a disarming peace, humble and persevering .It comes from God. God, God who loves us all unconditionally . We still have in our ears that weak , but always courageous voice off Pope Francis as he blessed Rome!
The Pope who blessed Rome gave his blessing to the world that Easter morning. Allow me to follow up on that same blessing.: God loves us. God loves you all, and evil will not prevail.
We are all in the hands of God. Therefore without fear, united hand in hand with God and among ourselves we move forward. We are disciples of Christ.
Christ preceded us. The world needs his light. Humanity needs him as the bridge to allow it to be reached by God and his light.”
All are welcome to join us for this Diocese of Westminister celebration to mark the 10th Anniversary of the papal encyclical Laudato Si’ and the 800th Anniversary of the Canticle of the Creatures.
The event will include conversation, music, liturgy and workshops.
Speaker: Fr Richard Nesbitt, Parish Priest of Our Lady of Fatima, White City.
Organised by Westminster Justice & Peace and the Westminster Laudato Si’ Animators, in collaboration with the FCJ Centre Spirituality and Eco-Justice in London.
Free to attend but please register in advance as places are limited.
Bokani Tshidzu (Operation Noah)and James Buchanan (Laudato Si’ Movement)
Source: Ellen Teague
Justice and Peace contacts from dioceses around England and Wales gathered on Saturday 10th May 2025 for a networking day on ‘Opening doors to a sustainable world for future generations’. It was the third meeting in the series of events for this Jubilee Year of Hope organised by the National Justice and Peace Network (NJPN).
Held at CAFOD’s office in South London, it brought together around 40 participants from Arundel and Brighton, Birmingham, Brentwood, Cardiff/Menevia, Clifton, Hallam, Leeds, Liverpool, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Southwark and Westminster. They were joined by representatives of CAFOD, Religious Links, FCJ Sisters, Jesuit Missions, Columbans, Journey to 2030 and Laudato Si’ Animators.
The day opened with reflective prayer and singing of the hymn, ‘O Word of God come into this place,’ by Ricky Manalo, led by Sr MaryAnne Francalanza, Director of the London FCJ Centre for Spirituality and EcoJustice, and Colette Joyce, Westminster Justice & Peace Co-ordinator.
The first speakers were Mary and Peter Johnson of the Livesimply parish of St Teresa of Lisieux Parish at Lexden in Brentwood Diocese, whose projects include creating a prayer garden, producing sustainable lifestyle ideas and creation-centred prayers of intercession, and making Laudato Si’ better known. They are trained Laudato Si animators and are active with social projects of Caritas Brentwood and have helped organise the installation of 24 solar panels on their church roof. “The Season of Creation is now embedded in our parish,” they said. There were plenty of ideas for other parish groups.
Mary Finnerty, Lead Economist at CAFOD, and Andrea Speranza of CAFOD campaigns talked on ‘Tackling debt and the climate crisis in this Jubilee Year.’ The meeting was urged to support and bring to Catholic parishes a Caritas Internationalis petition calling for debt cancellation for the world’s poorest countries. It aims to reach 10 million signatures. CAFOD is also calling for a Debt Justice Law in the UK and a new comprehensive debt framework. Some in the room had been involved in Jubilee 2000 – which prompted the cancellation of $130 billion of debt 25 years ago – and endorsed a focus on structural change to try and prevent poor country indebtedness building up again. “There are structural issues keeping countries in debt that have never been addressed,” said Andrea. Maria pointed out that there are particular opportunities for campaigning in the UK because 98% of the loans of poor countries are governed by English Law.”
All were urged to attend and promotes a lobby of parliament on 9 July, which includes Christian development agencies and civil society networks, and will urge MPs to work towards the UK becoming a global leader in tackling climate change and restoring nature by 2030. “Faith groups have an important role to play,” said Andrea. And then there will be a build up to campaigning for significant climate action at the UN’s COP30 climate conference in Brazil in November.
James Buchanan of the Laudato Si Movement and Bokani Tshidzu of Operation Noah spoke to ‘Greening Church Investments: fossil fuel divestment and investment in climate solutions.’ Participants were urged to join the ‘Big Bank Switch’ and ‘Share Action.’ Bishop Gerardo Alimane Alminaza of San Carlos in the Philippines sent a video message challenging extractive industries which harm the environment and urged ethical investment. He was particularly concerned about HSBC and Standard Chartered’s financing of liquefied natural gas terminals and fossil gas power plants in the Verde Island Passage: Everyone clapped as he concluded with, “we hope we can count on you to join and support us.”
The Muslim Director of Faith for the Climate, Dr Shanon Shah, led group work on creation-centred theology – taken from ‘Laudato Si’, ‘Laudato Deum’ and the Muslim document ‘Al-Mizan: A Covenant with the Earth.’ Participants undertook to network more ecumenically and interfaith on justice, peace and ecology issues. Interfaith collaboration was also mentioned in a message from Bishop John Arnold, Lead Bishop for the Environment in England and Wales. He welcomed initiatives in parishes and schools to care for the environment over the 10 years since the publication of Laudato Si’. And he added that, “internationally, there has also been good news, especially with the impact of the Islamic document ‘Al-Mizan’ which so closely mirrors the contents of Laudato Si’.”
In the feedback at the end one participant reflected, “this is a great network of individuals, groups and organisations and we are strong when we work together.” Inspired by the day, actions suggested for building a sustainable world included promoting CAFOD’s Livesimply programme in parishes and schools and lobbying dioceses to have paid staff offering expertise on renewable energy projects and fossil-free banking. Creation-care should be embedded in Church liturgies and sacramental preparation. Church monies should be used ethically.
The next major NJPN event will be the annual national conference at the Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick, Derbyshire, on 25-27 July 2025. The theme will be: ‘Towards a Just Peace – Challenging the Inevitability of Violence.’ Keynote speakers will be Dr Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury and Dr Joanna Frew of Rethinking Security. All are welcome.
Brendan Metcalfe, CEO of Friends of the Holy Land writes:
It has been a very painful Holy Week and Easter for our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land; so, we ask you to show you care and seek for an end to this escalating war by joining us online in an historic ecumenical service to pray for a lasting peace during this time of brokenness and conflict.
This special ecumenical service will take place in Temple Church, London, on Tuesday 20th May. The event will feature a simulcast broadcast from the Co-Cathedral of the Most Holy Name of Jesus in the Latin complex, Jerusalem. The service will commence at 12pm BST in London and 2pm IDT in Jerusalem.
“This event marks the 1700th anniversary of the opening day of the Council of Nicaea (325 AD) and will bring together Christian leaders and communities for a profound moment of unity and prayer for peace, during this time of brokenness and conflict.” The Revd Robin Griffith-Jones, Master of the Temple
His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa will lead the service in Jerusalem along with Archbishop Hosam Naoum of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, with invitations extended to the other leaders in the Holy City. In London, Cardinal Vincent Nichols will lead along with Bishop Christopher Chessun, leaders from the Orthodox Churches and from Churches Together in England.
HB Cardinal Pizzaballa in his Easter Homily said: “Following Jesus, even in our difficult trials, is as compelling as it gets. So let us not forget that the Gospel speaks of an overturned stone. Therefore, even though there are so many problems and difficulties that beset us, let us affirm with serene confidence and clear determination that nothing keeps us trapped in our tombs, that we are a living Church that does not give up in the face of the stones that lie before us.”
Please share the online joining details with your friends and family so they will be able to join us on this special occasion. The service can be watched either live or within 48 hours.
The Catholic Union is co-hosting a panel discussion with Farm Street Church exploring the moral and spiritual challenges of the AI era. This topic is particularly relevant especially given newly elected Pope Leo XIV’s comments about how AI is the main challenge to human dignity, justice and labour.
The discussion will take place on Sunday 18 May from 3-5pm at Farm Street Church, 114 Mount Street, London. There will be an opportunity for questions and all are welcome to attend this unique event in order to hear from experts discussing Faith and Ethics in a time of technological transformation.
The panel is as follows:
Fr. Michael Baggot, Professor of Theology at Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas, Rome,
Matthew Harvey Sanders, CEO of Longbeard, Creator of Magisterium AI
Jen Copestake, Correspondent CGTN Europe
Fr Dominic Robinson SJ, Parish Priest Farm Street Church, will Chair the discussion
Fr Dominic says: “There is so much to learn about AI and faith. With this expert panel we want to open the can of worms and really make sense of it. I look forward to welcoming people to the event at Farm Street.”
The world came to Westminster Cathedral on Bank Holiday Monday, 5th May 2025, as the three London Dioceses of Brentwood, Southwark and Westminster gathered for a special Jubilee edition of the annual Feast of St Joseph the Worker Mass, celebrating the contributions made to the life, work and faith in the UK by all those who come from other countries to make a home here.
Organised by the Justice & Peace Commissions, Caritas and Ethnic Chaplaincies of the three Dioceses, in spite of grey skies and rainy weather there was a party atmosphere in the Cathedral Hall, as participants prepared for the procession down Ambrosden Avenue into the Piazza – many wearing their national dress, singing, dancing, and carrying banners and flags. People walking down Victoria Street stopped to watch as the colourful parade filled the Piazza and entered the Cathedral.
The Chief Celebrant was Archbishop George Stack. (Cardinal Vincent Nichols and Cardinal Michael Fitzgerald, would have taken part – but they were at the Conclave in Rome.)
The Deacons were Rev Eze Uguola from Nigeria and Rev Eric Chelvarayan from Sri Lanka.
Musicians Giovanni Marseglia and Liz Simpson who accompany the Westminster Lourdes pilgrimage, led the Mass parts and – together with the Cathedral Organist.
Colette Joyce, Justice and Peace Co-ordinator with Westminster Diocese gave a warm welcome – “especially to all the members of the ethnic chaplaincies represented here today and to the parishioners of all three dioceses who have come along to celebrate their commitment to our multi-racial and multi-ethnic community.”
Among VIP attending was Gopaljeet Singh Bhachu, Ambassador of City Sikhs, Mr Ruzbeh Hodiwala and Mr Shiruy Billimoria from the Zoroastrians; Christine Allen, Director of CAFOD, and members of her team; Naoise Grenham, Catholic Bishops of England and Wales policy team for migration and racial justice, Robina Rafferty from London Churches Refugee Fund; James Holland, Westminster Interfaith Co-ordinator, Gopaljeet Singh Bhachu, Ambassador of City Sikhs, Siobhan Garibaldi, president of the Catholic Women’s League and representatives from: Caritas Westminster, Southwark and Brentwood, Catholic Association for Racial Justice, Jesuit Refugee Service, Union of Catholic Mothers and representatives of London Citizens.
Fr Dominic Robinson SJ Chair of Westminster Justice and Peace gave the homily, in which he reflected on the question ‘Where are you from?’ He concluded: “Where are we from? We are all from here, rooted now in where we live and work, and walking together in hope in the Christ who calls us all to build up his Kingdom here and now.”
The Offertory Procession was brought up by representative from several chaplaincies.
The beautiful Offertory song was sung by the Nigerian Chaplaincy Choir. After Communion there were hymns sung by the Goan Chaplaincy and the Tamil Chaplaincy.
Post-Communion reflections were given by representatives from Citizens UK. Nori and Joan described the difficulties they had as migrants in this country and the support they’ve received from their churches and London Citizens. Joan is now training to be a teacher and works with London Citizens helping other migrants and refugees. She said: “A report by the Bishops Conference in England and Wales, called Love The Stranger, says: ‘We call upon all Catholics to help ensure that their Members of Parliament and local authorities are aware of their responsibilities towards migrants and refugees.’ If you or your parish would like to explore working with us, please come speak to us after the service.”
After words of thanks and final blessing, the congregation processed out into the Piazza, where the sun was now shining and many people stopped to chat and pose for pictures under a blue sky.
Video credit: Jo Siedlecka, Independent Catholic News
Diocese of Westminster Justice and Peace Commission 