Primates’ Meeting moved from Rome to London

THE next Anglican Primates’ Meeting, which was due to take place in Rome next month, will now take place in London. Covid-related travel restrictions in Italy had meant that about half of the Primates, including almost all the Primates from Africa, would not have been able to attend in person. The meeting, called by the Archbishop of Canterbury, is to take the form of a spiritual retreat and include discussions about the forthcoming Lambeth Conference (News, 28 January). The Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, the Rt Revd Dr Josiah Idowu-Fearon, said: “It is not feasible to gather in Rome due to Italy’s Covid-related restrictions. . . It will be possible for all Primates to gather in England and to participate in person and we now shift our focus to preparing for that.”

Lichfield Cathedral creates jobs for young people

LICHFIELD CATHEDRAL has become an employment hub for young people, offering 46 new six-month job placements for 16- to 24-year-olds in the region, through the Government’s Kickstart Scheme. Opportunities are in the cathedral and partner organisations, including grounds maintenance, children’s workers, and marketing assistants. The executive director of the cathedral, Simon Warburton, explained on Wednesday: “As the situation with the pandemic worsened in 2020, it became apparent that young people would be some of the hardest hit. . . We discussed how we might give them hope for their futures, and that’s when the Government’s Kickstart Scheme was announced. We are so proud as a Cathedral to have been able to help out these young people.” The Kickstart project manager, Ben Butterfield, was employed to implement the programme.

Correction: In our report of the General Synod’s safeguarding debate last week, we suggested that Maggie Atkinson, who chairs the Independent Safeguarding Board, had criticised the National Safeguarding Team. In fact, her criticism was of the structures and culture of the wider Church. We apologise for the error.