IN BRIEF


Pickles meets archbishop Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols met the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles, on Monday to consider the Coalition’s plans to improve integration and community cohesion. Mr Pickles, who requested the meeting with the archbishop, is believed to be holding simi - lar meetings with the leaders of other faiths.


Sciaf head steps down Head of the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (Sciaf), Paul Chitnis, has resigned after 15 years as its chief executive. In an email to colleagues, Mr Chitnis announced that he was leaving immediately and cited a fuller commitment to his family as the reason. During his office, Sciaf greatly widened its fund pool and its international visibility.


Holy Land conference The Catholic and Anglican Churches are to hold a joint conference at Lambeth Palace on the plight of Christians in the Holy Land. The Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, said the event – next Monday and Tuesday – is intended to promote greater understanding of the experiences of Christians in the region as well as finding ways of pro- viding practical support for them.


East Anglia’s bishop dies of cancer


Sam Adams


THE BISHOP of East Anglia, Michael Evans, who continued with his ministry for six years after being diagnosed with prostate cancer, died on Monday. Bishop Evans was admitted to hospital the


previous Thursday following a deterioration in his condition. He was told he had only weeks to live in December last year and won admiration for the way he used his suffering to witness to his faith. He set himself mile- stones to reach before he died, including celebrating the Chrism Mass with his diocese. In a letter to the diocese in January entitled


“Waiting in Joyful Hope”, Bishop Evans – who was appointed by Pope John Paul II in February 2003 – announced he wished to carry on as bishop rather than resign.


When asked during a BBC television inter-


view earlier this year whether his illness had tested his faith, Bishop Evans admitted he had had “why me?” moments, but had adopted the motto “living with dying” to “make it a positive thing as far as possible”. He did, however, have “doubt, worry and


concern about what is going to happen and when it is going to happen”. The bishop said “death and resurrection” were “at the very heart of the Christian faith” but were now rarely spoken about in society. In recent months, Mgr Anthony Rogers


and Fr David Bagstaff helped the bishop with his duties as joint vicars general. The diocese’s College of Consulters will now


meet to select an administrator to perform the bishop’s duties until a replacement is found, which is likely to be within the next 18 months.


Archbishop Peter Smith, Archbishop of


Southwark and former Bishop of East Anglia, said Bishop Evans was “unstinting in using his time and great talents in the service of the clergy, Religious and people of the diocese. He added: “Even during his long period of ill health, although increasingly restricted in what he was able to do, he refused to give up.” (See Obituary, page 34.)


Oratory to favour active Catholics’ children Lecture 2011 The Most Rev.


Vincent Nichols Archbishop of Westminster, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales.


“Holiness Today: The Formation of the Human Heart”


An exploration of the models of and quest for holiness in contemporary society.


Thursday 20 October 2011 at 6.45pm


at Westminster Cathedral Hall


Admission is by advance ticket only at a cost of £15 (£12 concessions) and includes entry to a Tablet drinks reception


To purchase tickets, please call:


020 8748 8484 or email: sblackburn@thetablet.co.uk


32 | THE TABLET | 16 July 2011 The Tablet


THE LONDON Oratory School is pressing ahead with plans to weight its admissions policy in favour of the families of pupils who do voluntary work in their parishes, writes Paul Wilkinson. The comprehensive in Fulham, west


London, believes the move will help it deal with the problem of oversubscription, as each year sees many more children apply than the 220 places available. But opponents fear it will favour middle-class families who have the time and money to invest in community activities. The school, where Tony Blair sent his three eldest children, already prioritises children who regularly attend Mass, fulfil the Church’s requirements on baptism and have received Holy Communion. But the admissions rules for 2012 will include a system that awards points for “ser- vice in any Catholic parish or in the wider Catholic Church by both the candidate and a Catholic parent”. If that fails to resolve the situation, names will effectively be picked


■The Society of Jesus has offered to sell the St Cuthbert Gospel – the oldest intact European book still in its original binding – to the British Library for £9 million, writes Sam Adams. The seventh-century work, a manuscript copy of the gospel of St John written in Latin, was buried alongside St Cuthbert on Lindisfarne in 698, and has been on loan to


from a hat. However, the equally popular Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School in Kensington, west London, was told to remove a similar part of its admissions criteria by the Office of the Schools Adjudicator. The Vaughan had been reported to the adjudicator in 2009 for breaches in the admissions code by the Archdiocese of Westminster. It had been reported that the Diocese of


Westminster was unhappy with the Oratory’s proposals but this week the diocese released a statement in which it said it had “fully con- sulted” with the Oratory on the changes. It went on: “The diocese shares the aim of the London Oratory School to ensure that the school continues to serve the broad range of the Catholic community. The Diocese of Westminster continues to review the admis- sion arrangements of all Catholic schools in the diocese.” The Oratory is under the control of the Oratorian Fathers. The Oratory’s head teacher, David McFadden, was not available for comment.


the library from the Jesuits since 1979. Proceeds from the sale will be used by the Jesuits to support its schools in London and Glasgow, to help found a new school in Africa, and to restore the Grade I-listed nineteenth-century parish church of St Peter at Stonyhurst. On Thursday, the British Library announced a


fund-raising campaign to buy what it describes as “one of the world’s most significant books”. Fr Kevin Fox, acting socius,


or secretary, of the Jesuits in Britain, said: “It has been our privilege to possess this book for nearly 250 years. Now, in order to answer more of the many demands on our resources, the Province trustees have decided to sell.”


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