Welby tribute to Prince Charles on investiture anniversary
AT A reception in Buckingham Palace to mark the 50th anniversary of the investiture of the Prince of Wales at Caernarfon Castle, the Archbishop of Canterbury said: “Never in the history of the role can there have been such dedicated service. . . This Prince of Wales has guarded the sacred duty of service and kept the fire not only alight, but burning more brightly with the passing years.” Members of the royal family were present (above).
Bishop of Birmingham meets global mining experts
THE Bishop of Birmingham, the Rt Revd David Urquhart, chaired a meeting of global experts and industry representatives to advance the call from the Pensions Board that has been made for an independent register of tailings dams after the Vale dam disaster in Brazil (News, 8 February).
The Tablet to launch its digital archive, 1840 onwards
THE Roman Catholic weekly The Tablet is to launch its digital archive, giving its subscribers access to its issues since 1840. It is described as the second-oldest surviving weekly publication in Britain. Like the Church Times, it covered general as well as ecclesiastical news. Amanda Davison-Young, the CEO of The Tablet, said: “There is an incredible amount of the Catholic Church’s history preserved within the digital pages of the archive; the invaluable content of 8750 issues will be indispensable as a historical resource for individuals and institutions around the world.”
Thieves steal lead from five Leicestershire churches
LEAD estimated at a value of £20,000 has been stolen from five churches in Leicestershire in a four-week period. St Leonard’s, Holwell, a 14th-century church, had the latest incident. A churchwarden there, Roger Tucker, told the BBC: “There are six-inch. divots in the ground where the lead hit the grass. We were in the process of having a burglar alarm installed, but the thieves just got there too quickly.” The other churches affected are St James’s, Ab Kettleby; St Mary’s, Thorpe Arnold; St Helen’s, Plungar; and St Denys’s, Goadby Marwood.
Christian climate protesters not to be prosecuted
THREE members of Christian Climate Action are not now to be prosecuted after being charged with offences during the Extinction Rebellion protests (News, 23 November 2018). The three, out of eight who were arrested, were told that “a prosecution is not needed in the public interest.” Ruth Jarman, who no longer faces prosecution, said: “Part of me is relieved that the court case has been dropped. . . However, another part of me is very frustrated. We are living in a time of climate emergency that our politicians are refusing to acknowledge. Standing before a court of law would force authorities to consider the desperate position we have been forced into: the devastation being caused to our beautiful world, and what we are having to do about it.”