RC Bishops urge consideration of peace in EU referendum

ROMAN CATHOLIC voters should recognise “the contribution of the European project to peace in Western Europe” when casting their vote in the EU referendum, RC Bishops of England and Wales have said. In a statement last week, the Bishops urged the faithful to vote “with a view to the common good of all” and “in the context of how best we can promote justice and peace”. They also said: “We acknowledge the justifiable concerns that many people have in relation to the European Union, its institutions and the implications of increasing integration.” The Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, said separately that Brexit would leave the country “facing more complex problems . . . than we would by playing an active and vigorous part with partners, with the EU”.

Children stalked by hunger, Frank Field warns

TOO many children “have hunger as their most constant companion”, the chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hunger, Frank Field, said last week. The group’s new report, the start of an attempt to calculate the extent of hunger in the UK, states that 6367 children started reception class underweight in 2015, a 16-per-cent increase on 2012, and that the number of anaemic children under five in 2011 (502,643) was up by 46 per cent on the previous decade. The prevalence of anaemia among pregnant women has also reached its highest level in two decades. The report, which includes evidence from schools, attributes the results to “the breakdown of parenting” and an increase in the numbers of families on a low income.

Exeter court rules on boys’ circumcision

A MUSLIM father cannot circumcise his sons without their permission, a family-court judge in Exeter has ruled. Mrs Justice Roberts agreed with the mother of the boys, aged six and four, that they should first reach an age where they can make the decision for themselves.

Derby Cathedral opts for cheapest Monopoly slot

STAFF at Derby Cathedral have said that they would like it to have the cheapest space on the Monopoly board, Old Kent Road, when a Derby city version of the board game is produced later this year. The designers have said that they would like to see the building in the Mayfair slot, but some of the staff at the cathedral have said that it would better suit Old Kent Road, because it is “diverse, inclusive, and open to all”. The public have been voting for 22 landmarks to appear on the board, and polls are due to close soon. The Dean of Derby, the Very Revd Dr John Davies, was due to discuss the proposition with designers on Wednesday, after the Church Times went to press.

Archbishop Welby: Money is not king

THE Archbishop of Canterbury has said that “we have to challenge the sovereignty of money and finance over every aspect of our life,” in a new series of films on God and money by the church charity To Your Credit. Speaking in the first of four ten-minute videos covering “Money, Debt and Salvation”, which were launched last week, Archbishop Welby said: “The human person is what matters — and Jesus Christ’s view of the human person is of someone of infinite value, whoever they are, whatever their debt or credit position.