Cardinal Vincent Nichols has said that if Britain leaves the European Union it would create “complex problems”.
Speaking at the end of the spring meeting of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, the Archbishop of Westminster said that the path of division “almost inevitably leads to further division”.
The cardinal said: “There is a long tradition in Christianity and Catholicism in particular of believing in holding things together. So the Catholic stance towards an effort such as the EU is largely supportive.
“If the vote was to leave Europe I think we would face more complex problems and greater difficulty in finding our role in response to it than we would by playing an active and vigorous part with partners within the EU.”
He accepted that his comments “basically answer” the question of how he would feel about a Leave vote, implying that he sides with Remain.
Cardinal Nichols’s statement went significantly further than the resolution passed by the bishops’ conference, which did not encourage a vote in either direction. The statement stressed that the EU was founded on the principles of peace, subsidiarity and solidarity. “Our decision in the referendum should thus be taken in the context of how best we can promote justice and peace,” the bishops said.
They continued: “We must ask ourselves, in the face of every issue, what will best serve the dignity of all people both within Europe and beyond.”
Recalling that “Europe has a 2,000-year-old Christian culture that has shaped the continent and is a dynamic spiritual, moral and intellectual resource as we address the future”, the bishops suggested that people should pray before casting their vote.
Bishops will hold National Eucharistic Congress in 2018
England and Wales is to have its first National Eucharistic Congress for more than a decade.
The bishops resolved at their meeting in Leeds last week to hold the congress for England and Wales in 2018.
Eucharistic congresses are gatherings of clergy, Religious and laity to promote an awareness of the central place of the Eucharist in the life and mission of the Church, bearing witness to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
The bishops’ decision came after Bishop Robert Byrne, Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham, gave a glowing report on the Eucharistic Congress held in Cebu, the Philippines, in January. Some 350,000 people are estimated to have attended. Bishop Byrne wrote that his “overriding impression” was of “the vibrancy of the Church’s life and mission”.
The last congress was held in Birmingham in 2005. The then Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Birmingham celebrated the opening Mass. Speakers included Fr Raniero Cantalamessa, the preacher to the papal household. Archbishop Nichols described the congress as “a highlight of the summer”.
Confession ‘rising dramatically’
The number of people attending Confession has increased “dramatically” during the Year of Mercy, Cardinal Vincent Nichols has said.
Speaking during a press conference following the bishops’ plenary meeting last week, the cardinal said “diocese by diocese, parish by parish”, the attendance at Confession had “increased dramatically during the past six months”.
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