Catholic Herald

(The Catholic Herald).

A practicing Catholic and former Catholic Union chairman, the new Lord Mayor is 63, and his wife Emiko will be the first ever Japanese Lady Mayoress. Cllr Rigby, who studied at Ampleforth College, has lived in St John’s Wood for more than 35 years and spent his working life in sales and marketing within the travel industry, including 20 years with Japan Airlines (during which time he met his wife Emiko).

The Lord Mayor’s chaplain will be Father Christopher Colven, past Rector of St James’s Church, Spanish Place, in Marylebone. Fr Colven is currently the Catholic Chaplain to the Houses of Parliament.

The Lord Mayor chose to speak to the Catholic Herald about his appointment and what he plans to do in the role.

For the uninitiated, what does a Lord Mayor of Westminster actually do?

In a typical year the Lord Mayor of Westminster attends around 500 engagements across the eight square miles of the City aiming to reach the whole of the community, and hosts up to 40 events. The role is about honouring the people of Westminster and acknowledging and applauding their hard work. It is about celebrating local success and recognising achievements. The Lord Mayor has the opportunity to thank people and organisations, on behalf of the city.

Along with openings, unveilings, tree plantings, receptions and award ceremonies, the Lord Mayor engages with schools, care homes, businesses, faith groups, youth organisations, sports and community groups across the City.

Ceremonial and big ticket events include: banquets and receptions at Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree and the annual visit to Oslo to fell the tree, services at Westminster Abbey and Remembrance events across Westminster.

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(Catholic Herald. Matthew Showering).

The appointment of Fr David Waller as the first Bishop Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham represents not only a major new chapter in the life of the Ordinariate, but a rare landmark moment for the Church throughout the Anglosphere: the elevation of a former Anglican clergyman to the episcopate.

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(The Catholic Herald).

Durham University’s Centre for Catholic Studies has released what is being described as the first study into how the clerical child sexual abuse crisis has impacted “the whole Catholic community” in England and Wales. 

The Cross of the Moment report is based on four years of research and explores the ecclesial and cultural implications of the child abuse crisis in the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It illustrates how the abuse crisis has been experienced by different groups within the Church, most painfully by victims of abuse and their families, but also by others effected more indirectly, such as lay people, priests, deacons, bishops, religious communities and others.

The report suggests that “aspects of the culture and practices of the Catholic Church are implicated in how clerical child sexual abuse has happened”. These aspects of Catholic culture explored in the report include clericalism and the lack of practical structures of accountability. The report also highlights how the response of the Church has often failed, causing further pain and harm, which victims describe as “secondary abuse”.

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