Ruskin’s 200th birthday celebrated in Venice
ST GEORGE’s, Venice hosted a special service to mark the bicentenary of John Ruskin’s birth on Sunday. Eighty people, including the Deputy Mayor of Venice; the Master of the Guild of San Rocco, Franco Posocco; and the Master of the Guild of St George, UK, Clive Wilmer, came for matins. Mr Wilmer told the congregation that, for Ruskin, “the whole earth is sacred. Wherever we are moved by the beauty and power of nature, God has let down the ladder to us.” A wreath was hung at the Hotel La Calcina, where Ruskin lived for a time.
UN and partners launch £156m humanitarian plan for Libya
THE UN and its partners have launched a new humanitarian response plan (HRP) for Libya, which requires £156 million of funding, to help 550,000 people. Launched last week, it has the support of the interim Libyan government. The UN Humanitarian/Resident Co-ordinator for Libya, Maria Ribeiro, said in Tripoli: “Years of instability and insecurity have taken a toll on the well-being of many children, women, and men in Libya. Each passing year, people struggle to withstand the impact of a crisis that has destabilised the country, put them in harm’s way, and ravaged the economy.” The HRP is an attempt to fund food, water, and health supplies in the country.
Court upholds suspension of former Los Angeles bishop
THE US Episcopal Church’s Court of Review has upheld the three-year suspension of the former Bishop of Los Angeles, the Rt Revd J. Jon Bruno. He was originally suspended after he locked the congregation out of St James the Great, Newport Beach, after he failed to sell it (News, 4 August 2017). The Bishop of Maine, the Rt Revd Stephen T. Lane, President of the Court of Review, said in a statement: “We believe the decision reached in the Bishop Bruno matter is just, but no cause for celebration in any quarter.”
New President’s task is to bring peace, says Cardinal
THE principal task for the new President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, is to overcome the murderous violence and bring peace for the people of the country, Cardinal Gregorio Rosa Chavez, the auxiliary RC Bishop of San Salvador and President of Caritas El Salvador, said last week. Speaking to CAFOD’s Head of Latin America, Clare Dixon, Cardinal Chavez said: “A profound renewal is needed.” Ms Dixon wrote that Bukele’s “ability to bring in meaningful reforms will depend on how successful he is in persuading other political leaders to support his programme.”