FROM BRITAIN AND IRELAND NEWS Prison chaplains see role under threat Christopher Lamb


A GROUP of 35 prison chaplains have told the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales that their positions are under threat from proposed changes to their work and the decision of the most senior Catholic prison chaplain in England and Wales to withdraw from his role as a government employee. In a letter to the Archbishop of Westminster, the chaplains express “deep concern and anx- iety” about Mgr Malachy Keegan leaving his position as principal Catholic chaplain at the chaplaincy headquarters of the National Offender Management Service (Noms). They also state that a draft “concordat” drawn up by the bishops’ conference setting out how Catholic chaplains should spend their time “puts us at odds with colleagues and is already being perceived by them and governors as putting our positions at risk”. The letter, which has been seen by The


Tablet, says the chaplains were not consulted before Mgr Keegan’s resignation, and main- tains that the move isolates Catholic prison chaplaincy and goes against the call by Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to Britain for the Church “not to be isolationist” and to engage with society. “This divorces the Catholic chaplains from


any direct feedback to Noms and results in the Catholic Church having no voice or sub- stantive senior presence,” the letter states. “The whole step can easily be perceived by


our colleagues in other faiths and denomin - ations as being the beginning of a withdrawal of Catholic involvement in the full pastoral work within the prison.”


It was decided that Mgr Keegan should resign his post in March after he was told by Noms that his position was being restructured and would require him to spend just 10 to 20 per cent of his time working with Catholic chaplains and the rest spent on “generic” chaplaincy work. He is now employed by the bishops’ conference to oversee the work of prison chaplains. The 170 or so chaplains were informed of the latest developments in a letter from Bishop Terence Brain, who has responsibility for prisons at the bishops’ con- ference. Catholics have long been over- represented in prisons, with the number of Catholic prisoners increasing by 4,000 since 1997 to a total of 14,806 at the end of March this year, according to Prison Service figures. The Church believes that Noms, an agency of the Ministry of Justice, is not allowing Catholic prisoners to be adequately minis- tered to by Catholic chaplains because of its desire for more “generic”, multi-faith chap- laincy work. A Noms spokesman said that due to budget cuts it had not been able to fund all the functions that the Church had wanted for the principal chaplain role. A spokesman for the bishops’ conference said that these included providing pastoral care to chaplains, sitting on interview panels for the recruitment of new Catholic chaplains


and keeping diocesan bishops informed of chaplains' work. In the letter from 30 chaplains, which was sent to Archbishop Nichols so he could convey their concerns to the bishops at their Low Week meeting last month, the group stated: “All directly employed chaplains are required to do generic duties (by contract) and it is our performance of the generic which gives us credibility with those with whom we work (prisoners and staff) in dealing with the pastoral concerns they have.”


Some chaplains, who did not want to be named, said that generic chaplaincy does not mean that Catholic prisoners are left without access to a Catholic chaplain. The letter also states that a large number of chaplains now “do not have confidence” in Mgr Keegan. “It is entirely possible that pas- toral support within our situation would not be possible now Fr Malachy has departed from Noms.” The chaplains also suggest it is disingenuous to claim that Mgr Keegan resigned because he “took advantage of the voluntary early departure scheme”. This offered voluntary redundancy to certain employees across the Ministry of Justice. The bishops’ spokesman denied that Mgr


Keegan’s resignation would remove a Catholic presence from Noms leadership, adding that an agreement with the agency over Mgr Malachy’s new position was under negotiation. (For the full text of the chaplains’ letter, visit www.thetablet.co.uk)


Catholic peers accuse BBC of bias towards assisted suicide


TWO CATHOLICpeers have accused the BBC of running a campaign to change the law on assisted suicide, writes Christopher Lamb. Lord Alton and Lord Brennan, who is president of the Catholic Union of Great Britain, are among five peers who have written to Lord Patten, the chairman of the BBC Trust and Mark Thompson, the director general, to express their dismay at the broadcasting of a television documentary recently, Terry Pratchett: Choosing to Die. The programme, aired on BBC2 on Monday


13 June and presented by Sir Terry Pratchett, a best-selling novelist who is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, shows the final moments of Peter Smedley, a 71-year-old hotelier, at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland. “The BBC … is simply running an orches-


trated campaign to change the law,” the peers write. “We are not suggesting that this is a decision which has been taken by senior man- agement or the governors but a network of


32 | THE TABLET | 25 June 2011


journalists within the corporation have clearly taken the decision that they will use their con- siderable power to influence public opinion and to distort the debate whenever they have the opportunity.” The letter continues: “Setting aside our


repugnance that the death of a patient with motor neuron disease should be turned into a form of voyeuristic entertainment, the BBC has a duty to provide balanced debate.” Three other peers – Baroness Campbell of Surbiton, Baroness Finlay and Lord Carlile QC – also signed the letter to Lord Patten and Mr Thompson, who are both practising Catholics. The corporation has received more than


1,300 complaints about the programme, with some members of the public complaining about perceived BBC bias towards assisted suicide and others about the decision to broad- cast a death on-screen. On Thursday, the BBC Trust was due to


meet, and while the issue of the Terry Pratchett programme was not formally on the agenda, Lord Patten told The Tablet that the matter “may be raised by the director general”. Lord Patten added: “This is an editorial


matter and I wouldn’t dream of trying to deal with this over the director general. If com- plaints come through to the Trust then there is a process to look at those. I have my own personal views about life issues, but I am not going to impose myself on the BBC.” A spokeswoman for the Trust said it would be responding to the peers’ letter in due course. The BBC Trust judges complaints that have already been looked at by BBC audience serv- ices and the executive editorial complaints unit. As well as the complaints received following the programme, the BBC says it also received 354 messages of appreciation for it. (For the full text of the peers’ letter to the BBC Trust visit www.thetablet.co.uk)


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