Statement from the Archbishop of Southwark Following the Vote on Assisted Dying in the House of Commons

WEBMASTER • December 1, 2024

I am deeply saddened and extremely worried by the progress made in the House of Commons towards the legalisation of assisted suicide. While this is not yet the final step in enacting this legislation, it represents a seismic and concerning shift in our nation’s approach to caring for the most vulnerable among us.


Compassion, rightly understood, means standing with those who suffer, sharing their burdens, and honouring their dignity until the natural end of their lives. It does not mean hastening death, even in the face of pain or despair. Every human life is of immeasurable value, and our response must always be to protect and support those who are most in need.


The experience of other countries where assisted suicide has been introduced serves as a grave warning. Promised safeguards are eroded over time, leaving the elderly, disabled, and seriously ill at risk of feeling their lives are a burden to others. The subtle, and sometimes overt, pressure this creates threatens the very fabric of a society built on care and protection for the weakest.


Legalising assisted suicide also undermines the essential trust between patients and healthcare professionals. Those who dedicate their lives to healing and comforting the sick are being placed in an untenable position. Conscientious objection — the right of medical practitioners, nursing and care staff, and institutions to refuse to participate in practices that violate their deeply held ethical or religious convictions — must be upheld and protected. Without this assurance, the ethos of our healthcare system and the integrity of those who serve within it are at serious risk.


Instead of moving towards assisted suicide, we must commit to improving palliative care, ensuring that expert pain relief, emotional support, and spiritual care are available to all who need them. No one should feel alone or abandoned in their suffering.


As we face this challenging moment, I call on Catholics and all people of goodwill to advocate for the protection of life at every stage and to stand in solidarity with those who are most vulnerable. Let us also turn to the Lord Jesus, who shared in human suffering and revealed the depth of his love through his death and resurrection. Through him, we find the strength to defend the dignity of every person and to build a society that values the gift of life from conception to natural death.


Archbishop John Wilson

29 November 2024

PLANTS AND FLOWERS FOR EASTER

By Webmaster • March 30, 2026
Please could you bring flowers and plants to our church that we could then place them on the sanctuary for Easter, as signs of the joy we feel at the Lord’s Resurrection from the Dead. Please bring them any time next Saturday before about 5.00pm and leave them in the porch of the church. Thank you.

EASTER OFFERTORY COLLECTIONS

By Webmaster • March 30, 2026
The Collections on Easter Sunday (basket in church, on-line and the Card Reader) are your personal gift to your priest. Thank you for your kindness and generosity.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

By Webmaster • March 30, 2026
The Olde Forge Cafe, our parish way of fulfilling the Lord’s command to be a Missionary Community, will only work if each one of us brings someone new to the Cafe on Sundays, Tuesdays or Saturdays. Each one of us, regardless of age or circumstance, is asked by the Lord to be a missionary in Sanderstead. As we enter into Holy Week and understand more the significance of the Lord’s passion, death and resurrection, may we allow him to fill each one of us with his spirit so that we become a missionary parish.

WALK OF WITNESS ON GOOD FRIDAY

By Webmaster • March 29, 2026
May I invite you to join me for a short ‘Walk of Witness’ along our High Street on the morning of Good Friday. We will walk from our church, at 11.00am, to the ‘Gruffy’, stopping occasionally to meditate and pray. One of our parishioners, dressed in similar clothes to Jesus, will carry a large cross. We will be finished by 11.45am. Please bring the children too. I’m hoping that some of our friends from other Christian Churches will join us.

CHURCH CLEANING FOR EASTER

By Webmaster • March 29, 2026
Please could you join us next Saturday morning at 9.30, to tidy and clean the church for Easter. Parents, please bring the children too. Whatever age we are, whether man or woman, young or not so young, there is always some little thing we can all do. Humbly cleaning, tidying the church is a real prayer in itself.

LENTEN PENANCE SERVICE/OPPORTUNITY FOR INDIVIDUAL RECONCILIATION -31st MARCH

By Webmaster • March 29, 2026
We will have a short Penance Service, followed by an opportunity for individual reconciliation with the Lord, on Tuesday 31st March at 6.00pm

WEEK DAY LECTORS

By WEBMASTER • March 29, 2026
Mon: Giannina Tue: Marian

CHILDREN’S LITURGY OF THE WORD DURING 11.00am SUNDAY HOLY MASS

By Webmaster • March 29, 2026
Dear Parents, please note that the Children’s own reflection of the Liturgy of God’s Word, takes place during School Term times. Please, of course, continue to bring the children to holy Mass, come early and sit near the front of the church so that children can see and better understand the holy Mass. The children’s own Liturgy of the Word begins again on Sunday 26th April. Dear Parents, please bring the children to the Holy Week Services especially on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil/First holy Mass of Easter on Saturday evening. During this week, the Lord speaks powerfully of his saving love, through the Liturgy, to all our hearts.

HOLY MASS INTENTION/STIPEND

By Webmaster • March 29, 2026
An Intention for holy Mass is a specific prayer, often for a particular person or purpose, that a priest offers during the celebration of a holy Mass. It is the best way that we have to unite our lives, our hopes, our fears, our joys and our sorrows with the Lord Jesus. It is the best way possible, because every time holy Mass takes place, the Lord’s Death and Resurrection also takes place. A holy Mass Intention is a prayer asking that the Lord’s victory over sin and death be applied to the Intention. The Intention can be for those who are still living in this world or for those who have left this world. Anyone, of course, may request a holy Mass - In Thanksgiving, for a Birthday, for someone who has died, on the occasion of a special Anniversary, for someone who is unwell or for any other intention that we believe the good Lord wishes to hear and possibly to give us. Every holy Mass is the making present of the Lord offering his saving love to everyone, so every holy Mass is for everyone! However, sometimes we have specific Intentions that we may wish to mention to the Lord. A ‘Stipend’ or Offering for the holy Mass is not a fee! It is not ‘the cost of a holy Mass’! The holy Mass is so sacred, so full of the Lord’s presence and saving power that it is priceless! In fact, the Stipend is only a gesture of gratitude and care for the priest who celebrates the holy Mass for you. It is a way for supporting our priests who, although they do not receive salaries, still need personal funds to meet their own ‘costs of living.’ The Stipend suggested by the Archdiocese of Southwark Finance Committee is a minimum of £10 for each holy Mass. Of course, anyone who can’t afford a Stipend should still request a holy Mass Intention and I’m sure every priest would always be more than happy to celebrate holy Mass for someone in that situation.  Here in our parish, please use the holy Mass Intention envelopes which you will find in the porch of the church. Please write the details of the Intention, a preferred date if required, enclose the Stipend, and let me have it directly or post it through the presbytery letterbox.

HOLY COMMUNION UNDER BOTH KINDS/THE MINISTERIAL PRIESTHOOD/EUCHARISTIC MINISTRY/SIGN OF PEACE

By Webmaster • March 29, 2026
During the holy Mass of Maundy Thursday, we celebrate the priceless gifts of the holy Mass and the Priesthood which the Lord has given to his Church. Also, members of our Community of Faith who have been blessed and privileged to be Eucharistic Ministers, will renew their commitment to this sacred ministry. This is the best moment to begin again our normal practice of receiving Our Blessed Lord in the way he gave himself to us at the Last Supper, the very first holy Mass. Now that the Winter has officially ended and there is less risk of colds and flu’, we will be able to receive Our Blessed Lord not just in the consecrated bread which has become the Body of Christ but also in the consecrated wine which has become the Blood of Christ. Every holy Mass is a moment when the Lord’s great saving love for us, is made manifest. This is his love which he gives to us and wishes us to share with everyone, without exception. We will begin again, during this beautiful holy Mass, to offer a real physical gesture of peace and love for each other. Please do not receive the Precious Blood of the Lord from the chalice if you have a cough or cold or simply do not feel well.  Last Saturday, during a Eucharistic Ministers time of Prayer and Reflection, it was suggested by some Eucharistic Ministers that Hand Sanitiser be available for use following the Sign of Peace during holy Mass. Following the meeting, other Eucharistic Ministers suggested to me that the availability of Hand Sanitiser wasn’t really a great need and its use during the Liturgy would detract from the sacredness of the moment. Let’s leave the use of a Sanitiser then to personal choice, just as the way in which we offer each other a Sign of Peace is also a matter of personal choice.