Tag: london

Jesuit Missions hold vigil for Fr Stan Swamy SJ outside Indian High Commission

The campaign to clear the name of the late Jesuit priest Fr Stan Swamy continued with a vigil outside the Indian High Commission in London. Peaceful protestors gathered in front of India House, in Aldwych, on Friday, 11 July 2025, where they stood silently with placards calling for Fr Stan to be exonerated.

Fr Stan spent most of his life defending the rights of vulnerable communities in India, including Adivasi (indigenous tribal) and Dalit (low caste) people.

He was arrested by Indian authorities in October 2020 under controversial anti-terror laws for his alleged involvement in violence surrounding protests in 2018 in the village of Bhima Koregaon.

Suffering from Parkinson’s disease, he was kept in appalling conditions in prison and died as a result in July 2021, aged 84.

The demonstration, which was arranged by international development organisation Jesuit Missions, included prayers and readings on the theme of justice.

Paul Chitnis, Director of Jesuit Missions, attempted to hand over a box of cards signed in memory of Fr Stan at the end of the vigil, but this was refused by the High Commission staff.

Speaking at the vigil, Mr Chitnis said: “We continue to voice our call for Fr Stan’s name to be cleared, refusing to forget him and his legacy of working for the marginalised. Jesuits across the world and their supporters want the Indian Government to officially declare his innocence. We are also calling for due process for others arrested on similar charges, some of whom have been in pre-trial detention for years.”

In December 2022, Massachusetts-based digital forensics firm Arsenal Consulting reported the results of its investigation into the evidence which had led to Fr Swamy’s arrest and imprisonment. The report concluded that Fr Stan was systematically targeted in a cyber campaign over a four-year period during which time falsified evidence was planted on his computer.

LINK

Jesuit Missions: https://jesuitmissions.org.uk/

Walking the Westminster Way

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.

The Westminster Way

Historic Ecumenical Service held in London and Jerusalem on Anniversary of Council of Nicaea

Cardinal Pizzaballa live-streamed from Jerusalem. Photo: Friends of the Holy Land

Source: Jo Siedlecka, Independent Catholic News

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.”

Continue reading on ICN

To support the work of Friends of the Holy Land, please visit: www.friendsoftheholyland.org.uk/


FURTHER LINKS

Temple Church: www.templechurch.com/

Council of Nicaea: www.catholic.com/encyclopedia/councils-of-nicaea

23 February 2025, Healing the Earth, Healing Ourselves. Multi-Faith Summit at Friends House

Join us for an afternoon of panel discussions and workshops, spiritual connection, music, dance and poetry, creative work, and stalls showcasing the work that faiths are doing for the planet. Hosted by Faith for the Climate, Christian Climate Action and Quakers in Britain.

The event is free, and the venue is accessible for wheelchair users and people with other mobility issues. If there will be other barriers to you joining us (e.g. travel costs or travel schedules for your journey or being responsible for children), please email mobilise@faithfortheclimate.org.uk.

We want to learn so that we can improve the events that we organise. If you could please answer the monitoring questions when you sign-up that would be really appreciated!

Breakouts

There will be an opportunity to choose from 4 breakout sessions to take part in:

1) Healing Ourselves During Challenging Times (a series of activities you can do at your own pace) – nurturing your existing spiritual resources and learning from other traditions.

2) Bridging the Divide: How Faiths Can Come Together (panel and discussion) – building new, and refreshing existing, faith connections.

3) Starting With Our Local Environment (panel and discussion) – hear from groups already taking local action about their projects and how faith values connect with this.

4) National and International campaigns (panel and discussion) – learning about campaigns that are focused on justice-based action on climate.

You will be able to indicate which stream you would like to take part in when you register.

Agenda

12:30 – 13:30 Registration and stalls

13:30 – 14:00 Welcome, housekeeping and opening

14:00 – 14:45 Plenary

14:45 – 15:05 Break

15:05 – 16:35 Breakout streams

16:35 – 16:55 Break

16:55 – 17:15 Regrouping

17:15 – 18:00 Performance and closing

Link

Faith for the Climate

West London Justice and Peace Network: ‘So much going on!’

‘Called to be Peacemakers’ cover image. CBCEW

By Maggie Beirne, West London Justice and Peace Network Co-ordinator

“There is so much going on!” – the positive reaction of one of the participants at this weekend’s meeting online of the West London Justice and Peace Network.

Representatives of 10 parishes were joined by Richard Harries, CEO of Caritas Westminster, which encourages parishes to engage with their own social action projects. Also, Sr Silvana Dallanegra, a Religious of the Sacred Heart and a Development Worker of Caritas Westminster, covering seven deaneries.

Those present talked of their parishes’ efforts organising hustings in relation to the general election; Autumn efforts around the Season of Creation and Fairtrade Fortnight; CAFOD Harvest fundraising efforts; the DEC Appeal and action for the Middle East; and advance preparations for Advent and Christmas. Often big events were organised (eg a Green Living Fair); sometimes the parish newsletter and social media were used as vehicles to encourage reflection, prayer and fundraising efforts; sometimes Bidding Prayers, musical choices, or special liturgical events were planned to mark key events. Some parishes have been successful in drawing in their young parishioners – colouring books for the children’s liturgy; badges to promote Fairtrade and CAFOD; and looking at wider issues of diversity (in their church iconography etc).

Nearly all the parishes have a range of activities linked also to more immediate local concerns – with foodbank collections; winter night shelter arrangements; social gatherings to reduce isolation and so on. Most parish reps also reported how they had followed up in lobbying their local MPs in response to the Cardinal’s recent statement on Assisted Suicide.

The group also discussed common problems and exchanged practical suggestions about the way forward – how to avoid ‘funding fatigue’ when there are competing demands for second collections; should we hand out CAFOD envelopes in person, or is it better to attach them to all the newsletters; how do we get more volunteers to come on board; how do we best coordinate across Justice and Peace/CARITAS/SVP/Laudato Si locally without losing our distinct charisms? There was a lot of information shared about local, national and international resources available to help.

The network was particularly interested to hear more about the bishops’ statement, ‘Called to be Peace Makers,’ issued in May 2024. It is a very strong document sub-titled ‘A Catholic Approach to Arms Control and Disarmament,’ though several of those present had not been aware of it previously. Given how important this debate is currently, resources like this need to be more widely disseminated – both to those in the pews and to the wider world. It was suggested that the Bishops’ Conference might offer printed copies. Some members of the Network are particularly active in Pax Christi and Christian CND and are taking ahead specific projects – including a Nuclear Morality flowchart – and hoping to lobby parliament to move this issue further up their agenda.

So, to finish where we began with “so much going on!” Sometimes parishioners feel overwhelmed about the competing demands and needs for action – and particularly now when the world seems to be in a specially bad place on peace and environment issues, and people’s immediate concerns about cost of living, family, health, or work can be demanding. But three times a year, the network gets together virtually and by putting together all our individual scraps of ‘good news’ and activities, we are amazed at the result. It gives us all the energy and commitment to carry on and indeed increase our efforts for the coming of justice and peace in our hearts, homes and world!

LINKS

‘Called to be Peacemakers’: www.cbcew.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/05/Called-to-be-Peacemakers.pdf

Nuclear Morality flowchart: www.nuclearmorality.com

Caritas Westminster: https://caritaswestminster.org.uk/

November 1 Lecture with Baroness Scotland at Farm Street. https://westminsterjusticeandpeace.org/2024/09/26/inaugural-westminster-justice-and-peace-lecture-friday-1-november-2024-7pm-farm-street-church/