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England

A Catholic Speaker
Prince also voices support for Catholics

Britain’s Parliament has elected Michael Martin as Speaker of the House of Commons, the first Catholic to hold the post since the Reformation.

Speaker Martin, as he now becomes, was the bookies’ favorite to succeed the popular Betty Boothroyd, who has retired.

Martin told MPs that the Speaker—who has the task of keeping order during parliamentary debate—”has a clear duty to every side of this House, especially to the backbenchers, the minority parties, and the opposition parties.” He added, “My origin should be no reason for me being elected. Nor should my origin be a reason to debar me Speaker Martin has been described by most British newspapers as “right wing” because of his opposition to abortion and to lowering the age of consent for homosexual activity.

In a related development, it came to light that the Prince of Wales sees no reason why Catholics should not be allowed to marry the monarch or even ascend the throne, according to comments published in the British press. Prince Charles told former liberal democrat MP Paddy Ashdown five years ago that he could see no reason for banning members of various religious denominations from the throne. Ashdown recorded the comment in his diaries, which are now being serialized in the Times. Ashdown wrote: “Charles looked at me, smiled broadly and said, ‘I really can’t think why we can’t have Catholics on the throne.’”

For this to take place the 1701 Act of Settlement—which bars Catholics from the throne—would have to be overturned. Prime Minister Tony Blair has said this would be too complicated.

A spokesman for Prince Charles downplayed the significance of the published remarks; he told the Daily Telegraph: “Obviously it was a private conversation and sounds to me as if it was a quiet aside. But the Prince has always had a strong sense of the country being for all faiths.”

However, the discussion of the Act of Settlement took yet another new turn when lawyers suggested that the legislation is certain to be overturned, because it does not comply with the new Human Rights Act. Neil Addison, a leading human-rights barrister who has launched a number of successful actions under the new convention, told the Sunday Telegraph, “The Act of Settlement clearly breaches the Human Rights Act. Any legal challenge would be successful. If Prince Charles or Prince William want to marry a Catholic they clearly have the right to do so under the Human Rights Act.”

Addison argued that the Act of Settlement violates two of the 14 provisions in the Human Rights Act: article 12, which gives everyone the right to marry whomever he wants, and article 14, which says that it is the right of everyone not to be discriminated against on religious grounds. The convention came into force on October 2.

Lord St. John of Fawsley, a Catholic and expert on constitutional issues, told the Sunday Telegraph, “There may well be a challenge under the Act. But what is also required is that anyone who ascends the throne would have to be able to join in communion with the Church of England. If that requirement also goes, as I suppose it might, then the whole establishment goes.”

Lord St. John, an old friend of the royal family, suggested that the rights of Catholics should not be enforced to the detriment of the monarchy. As he put it, “The Act of Settlement is insulting and unjust to Catholics, but there are no Catholics suffering discrimination at the moment so it does not need to be raised. The monarchy has been through such a frightful upheaval. What it needs is a period of calm.”

Cloning recommended
Procedure seen as answer to disease

Leading scientists have recommended to Members of Parliament that cloning of human embryos should be allowed to try to find cures for crippling diseases and injuries.

A report from the Royal Society says embryos should be cloned so that vital stem cells can be harvested by researchers. The cells allow them to grow human tissue that could help victims of diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson’s, or multiple sclerosis.

The report’s leading author, Dr. Richard Gardener, said the society’s 21 years of experience in the field showed that using cells harvested from cloned embryonic unborn children presented the best chance to help sufferers.

Gardener told the BBC, “We know that they can give rise to all the types of adult cells. They have the potential to do that, and this practical experience means we know the conditions under which one can make them form nerve muscle, heart muscle, ordinary muscle.”

The report concludes that despite “exciting recent reports” about breakthroughs in developing adult stem cells in mice, science cannot turn its back on embryo research. It says that the research with mice is still at a very early stage, and that “it is possible we will never be able to overcome all of the hurdles blocking the path to their potential use therapeutically.” It concludes, “This can only be determined by allowing more research that will enable a critical evaluation of the potential use of stem cells from both sources.” The report warns that if the research is blocked, some British scientists might decide to move overseas.

Critics say that research that harvests cells from adults, without harming the person from whom they are taken, has been promising and is being ignored in favor of research involving cells taken from aborted or cloned children.

Child-abuse charges loom
Clerics accused of negligence

Senior clergy who have failed to report cases of suspected child abuse are being investigated by police and could face charges of criminal negligence, according to a report in the Sunday Telegraph.

The inquiry, led by Steven Hussey, the head of Warwickshire Criminal Investigation Department, will look at several senior church figures who are accused of failing to report to police warnings that their subordinates were abusing children.

A spokesman for the inquiry told the newspaper, “The likelihood is that any charges brought will be for criminal negligence but we would not rule out other possible charges. The inquiry is in the early stages and we are currently sifting through the evidence collated in Scotland from conversations with a former victim living there.”

The investigation was prompted by the conviction of Father Eric Taylor, who was jailed in 1998 for seven years for indecent assaults on boys at an orphanage he ran in the Midlands in the 1950s and 1960s. He was previously convicted of child abuse in 1975 but allegations have been made that he was allowed to perform church duties up until 1996. Similar claims have been made relating to two other priests, Father Sam Penney and Father Ted O’Malley, both from the same Birmingham diocese, who have also been convicted of pedophilia.

Msgr. Kieran Conry of the Catholic Media Office said, “The difficulty is proving negligence in a court of law. I was a priest in Birmingham when Penney was arrested and I had no idea what he had been doing even though I was in the next parish.”

Child-abuse procedures instituted in all dioceses in Britain in the 1990s are not enough, says the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). “Institutions and organizations cannot properly investigate themselves,” said a spokesman. “When allegations of abuse are made against adults working with children, the adult concerned should have no further contact with children until independent professionals or the courts have proved that he or she is safe.”

Safer environment
Bishop wants assurances for children

Bishop Crispian Hollis of Portsmouth has called on Catholics in his diocese to counter the perception that the Church does not provide a safe environment for children.

In a pastoral letter to be read throughout the Portsmouth diocese, Bishop Hollis apologized to all victims of abuse and pledged to step up child protection measures.

“There is a perception, largely outside the community of the Church, that we do not provide a safe environment for children,” he said. “We know that it is not true but the perception is there because of the evil and highly publicized actions of a few, among whom are to be found priests, religious, and lay people.”

He continued, “There has rightly been a demand that the Church should apologize to victims for these dreadful crimes that have been committed within our communities. I apologize to all those whose lives have been devastated and even destroyed by the sin of abuse within our community.”

Bishop Hollis said that while we cannot undo crimes of the past, “we have to make sure that these things do not happen again and cannot happen within our community.”

Easter is inconvenient
School holidays to be rescheduled

The Birmingham city council is scrapping the traditional Easter school holidays because the feast is “inconvenient.” Two years ago, council officials came under fire when they tried to rename Christmas as “Winterval” to mute its Christian significance. Now they say that, because Easter falls on a different date each year, it can no longer command priority over other religious celebrations.

Councillor Roy Pinney, chairman of the city’s education committee, told the Sunday Mirror, “There are many people besides Christians in Birmingham. I think religious or Christian festivals can be celebrated without having to have a school break.”

A spokesman for Anglican Bishop Mark Santer of Birmingham said, “I have never heard of any other religion suggest that they object to the school marking Easter with a two-week holiday.” Father Paul McNally, a spokesman for the Birmingham archdiocese, said, “We would resist any proposals which would see pupils and teachers working in schools in Holy Week.”