THE diocesan synods of Bradford, Ripon & Leeds, and
Wakefield will vote tomorrow whether their respective dioceses
should be abolished and replaced by a single, larger "diocese of
Leeds" (
News, 5 October,
10 December 2010). The synods will be asked to vote "yes" or
"no" to the proposals; a simple majority is required for approval.
If all three dioceses vote in favour, a draft scheme is expected to
come before the General Synod for final approval in July. If it is
approved by the General Synod, the combined diocese could be
created as soon as Easter 2014. If one or more dioceses votes
against the scheme, the Archbishop of York, Dr Sentamu, could still
decide to place the scheme before the General Synod meeting in July
for a final decision.
A POLL of 1939 British adults, carried out by YouGov, suggested
that most people support the right to wear a cross on a necklace in
the workplace. Asked in which professions an employee should be
allowed to wear "a chain necklace with a Christian cross", 81 per
cent of respondents said that a flight attendant should be allowed
to; 70 per cent that a nurse should be allowed to; 77 per cent that
a teacher should be allowed to; and 85 per cent that an accountant
should be allowed to. In January, the European Court of Human
Rights ruled that British courts did not strike a "fair balance"
between competing rights when they ruled that British Airways had
the right to ban staff from wearing crosses (
News, 11 January).
THE former Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Revd Nigel McCulloch,
who has just retired as Lord High Almoner, was appointed KCVO, an
honour in the Queen's personal gift, on Wednesday of last week -
the first Bishop of Manchester to be honoured in such a way. The
convention for clergy who receive a KCVO is that they do not use
the title "Sir", but add the initials KCVO after their name.
THE first fortnightly mass for gay people at the Immaculate
Conception, Farm Street, in Mayfair, London, will be held on
Sunday, the Soho Masses Pastoral Council has said. The so-called
"Soho Masses" were previously held at Our Lady of the Assumption,
Warwick Street, but last month the RC Archbishop of Westminster,
the Most Revd Vincent Nichols, announced that the church was to be
given to the Ordinariate, and asked the Council to "focus their
effort on the provision of pastoral care" and no longer to organise
a regular mass (
News, 4 January). Archbishop Nichols is expected to attend the
March meeting (News, 11
January).
FAITH leaders from Asia and Africa presented statements opposing
the illegal wildlife trade to the Duke of Edinburgh on Wednesday of
last week. The statements from the leaders, representing Christian,
Buddhist, Daoist, Hindu, and Muslim communities, are the result of
an initiative by the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC),
of which the Duke is a founder, and the WWF-US.
THE chairman of the Zacchaeus 2000 Trust, an anti-poverty
charity dedicated to tackling "unfairness in the law, legal and
benefits system", stood down on Tuesday after 16 years' service.
The retired chairman, the Revd Paul Nicolson, who remains a
trustee, says that he needs to dedicate more time to Taxpayers
Against Poverty, and to work with people in north London affected
by welfare reforms. This will involve "explicit political activity"
that might put the trust's charitable status at risk, he says.