Tributes to Irish campaigner Sister Stan
THE Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference and the Anglican Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Michael Jackson, have paid tribute to Sister Stanislaus Kennedy, a Roman Catholic nun popularly known as Sister Stan, who was a social activist and founder of the homelessness charity Focus Ireland. She died, aged 86, on Monday, at St Francis Hospice, Blanchardstown. Dr Jackson, who chairs the Church of Ireland’s Church and Society Commission, described Sister Stan in a statement as “a woman of extraordinary dedication, empathy and charity towards those in greatest need. Her courage, vision and determination in embracing those on the margins of society, gave a practical expression to the Gospel call to love thy neighbour.”
Former Archbishop’s Adviser sentenced for sex offence
THE Revd Andrew Deuchar, 70, of Chirnside, Berwickshire, was sentenced on Monday to two years of community service with supervision, and will be put on the sex-offenders register for a similar period, after pleading guilty to sending indecent images of himself and a video of a sexual nature to a person whom he believed was a 14-year-old boy. The apparently under-age boy in Ireland, “Jason”, was in fact an adult member of an online paedophile-hunter group. Mr Deuchar, a former Archbishop of Canterbury’s Secretary for Anglican Communion Affairs, was also a chaplain to the Queen and a parish priest in Nottingham, before he agreed to resign his posts, after admitting, in 2008, to inappropriate behaviour towards a woman.
Post-mortem reveals chicks were poisoned
THE results of the post-mortems on two peregrine falcon chicks that had hatched in the nesting box at Worcester Cathedral this year reveal that the birds were poisoned. A statement from the cathedral said: “It is unknown how the chicks came to ingest a poison, and it is terribly sad that this happened this year, after three hugely successful years previously, where four chicks hatched each time and fledged successfully.” The chicks died between 6 and 15 May, after which the YouTube live stream was shut down. The results of the post-mortems will be submitted to the relevant authorities.
New music for the Advent ‘O’s published
NEW musical settings of the Advent “O” antiphons have been published by Church House Publishing in connection with O Come Emmanuel: Reflections on the Advent antiphons (Advent Books, 24 October). Recordings of the settings by Philip Moore, Sarah Cattley, Thomas Hewitt Jones, Tamsin Jones, Esther Bersweden, David Ogden, and Bernadette Farrell are available online and will be included in the Everyday Faith app, together with reflections from theologians, including Dr Jane Williams and the Dean of Westminster, the Very Revd Dr David Hoyle. cofe.io/OComeEmmanuel
Final Reading imminent on Bill to abolish Bishop’s vote
THE Constitution Bill 2023 is expected to have its Final Reading in the Legislative Council, the upper chamber of the Tynwald, the Isle of Man’s parliament, on 11 November. The Bill would abolish the Bishop of Sodor & Man’s vote in, but not membership of, the Legislative Council. An amendment under which the present Bishop, the Rt Revd Tricia Hillas, would in any case retain her vote while she is in office was not carried. The Legislative Council’s Select Committee has not made a recommendation either for or against the Bill, stating that this is “for each individual Member”; but it has suggested that removing the right to vote could lead the C of E to consider whether Man should retain its own diocese. The Bill passed its Third Reading by 14-9 in the House of Keys last year.
Let energy firms bear debt-write-off cost, says charity
OFGEM’s scheme to write off the £4.4-billion energy debt built up during the cost-of-living crisis “will bring much needed relief for thousands of people receiving benefits”, the Debt Justice movement’s head of campaigns, Eva Watkinson, has said. Anyone on means-tested benefits who built up energy debt of more than £100 between April 2022 and March 2024 will be eligible to apply as part of the £500-million debt write-off. Ms Watkinson said: “It is outrageous that energy-network companies, which have made enormous profits, are not contributing to the cost of the debt write-off scheme. Instead, the cost will be added to consumers’ bills. This scheme must go hand in hand with actions to bring down energy bills, as prices remain sky-high.”