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
We give thanks to the Lord that our dear sister Caitlin was baptised into the very life of God, on Easter Sunday. We join Caitlin in sharing her joy. Caitlin now bravely sets forth on her journey, which is our journey too, of making the Lord’s loving, saving presence the centre of all our lives. We give thanks to the Lord that on Easter Sunday, Alan entered into full communion with the Church founded on Christ and built on the Apostles
To Clare and everyone who brought the beautiful plants and flowers that adorn our church giving praise to God. To everyone for your generosity in the Easter Sunday collection and for all your gifts and cards. To Jim for cutting the grass.
March 7/8: 5pm Mary; 9am Lisa; 11am Carolyn 14/15: 5pm Jim; 9am Gabrielle; 11am Giannina 21/22: 5pm Lesley; 9am Linda; 11am Regina 28/29: 5pm Patrick; 9am Paul; 11am Lizzie April 2 (Maundy Thursday): 8.30pm Lorenza, Patricia, Maggie 3 (Good Friday): 3.00pm Ross 4 (Easter Sunday Vigil): 8.00pm David, Marian, Angela 5 (Easter Sunday): 9.00am Phil, Margaret, Simone 11.00am Mary, Carolyn, Lisa(H) 11/12 : 5pm Jim; 9am Gabrielle; 11am Lesley, Paul Donovan, Linda(H) 18/19 : 5pm Regina; 9am Patrick; 11am Paul Mould, Lizzie, Patricia(H) 25/26 : 5pm Maggie; 9am Lorenza; 11am Ross, David, Marian(H) Thank you to our wonderful Ministers of the Eucharist who have accepted the Lord’s invitation to this awesome, sacred ministry, by their willingness to give up their own plans and convenience in order to do God’s will rather than their own. Let us pray for them because they too fight the same personal weaknesses we all have to fight against and they too have to fight the same temptations we all have to fight. God be with them.
Deep in the human heart is a longing to be connected to others, to love and to be loved. I am leading this Workshop from 10.00am until 2.00pm on Saturday 11th July . The Workshop will help us to understand the reasons why we sometimes feel lonely and what a devastating effect Loneliness can have on us. I’ll suggest effective ways to ensure that your experience of Loneliness can actually become the means of finding deep, satisfying ways of being close to the Lord and to other people. The workshop will take place at the London Jesuit Centre. If you would like to attend this Workshop, please book now on the London Jesuit Centre website.
Anxiety and Worry often make life difficult for many people. I am leading this Workshop, from the evening of Friday 22nd May ( 6.30pm to 8.30pm) then continuing on Saturday 23rd May (11.00am TO 1.00pm). This Workshop will explain how Anxiety begins, how it can take hold of us and then spoil so much of our lives. I’ll also offer some very good, tried and tested ways in which people can escape from Worry or at the very least reduce it and begin to live much happier lives, feeling and monk . The Workshop will take place at the London Jesuit Centre. If you would like to attend this Workshop, please book now on the London Jesuit Centre website.
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.
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.
Please do your best to bring members of your family, your friends, neighbours and colleagues who normally have little, if any contact with our Catholic parish, to the Olde Forge Cafe. Please remember that those you bring with you DO NOT give a donation for their coffee and cake. Only us, who are regular members of our parish, are asked to give a donation, each time, to cover the cost of the Coffee machine, coffee beans, heat, light etc. Dear Bakers and those who provide milk, please remember to take your expenses from the donations received.
OLDE FORGE CAFE BAKERS/PROVIDERS ROTA MARCH 2026 21: Anderson 28: Mary APRIL 2026 4: Sophie 11: Helen 18: Anderson 25: Bridget Please, if possible, could you provide enough cakes for the whole of each week. Thank you to everybody who is helping to provide cakes. To avoid having too many cakes, Coral mentioned to me that non-perishable cakes can be safely stored in the Cafe for a short while. When it is your turn to provide a non-perishable cake, please bring your cake to the Cafe a few days before the date of your turn. OLDE FORGE CAFE - HOSTS ROTA MARCH 2026 22: Bridget, Jannine 24: Ros, Lizzie 28: Kelly-Ann, Carolyn 29: Giannina, Lorenza 31: Linda, Maggie APRIL 2026 5 (Easter Sunday): Regina, Patrick 7: Lorenza, Maggie 11: Collette, Patricia 12: Lizzie, Paul 14: Colette, David 18: Phil, Mary 19: Marian, Jim 21: Linda, Lesley 25: Ros, Gabrielle 26: Emmanuala; Giannina Please note that for each of the above dates when the Cafe is open, one of the two Hosts has been trained in the use of the new coffee machine. Please would that trained person be the only person operating the machine and also please train the other person in its use. Many thanks. Thank you to everybody who acts as a Host. If an unexpected emergency occurs on the date you are scheduled to be a Host, please don’t worry about the Cafe. No need to try to find someone to ‘stand in’ for you. There is no need whatsoever to ‘swop’ with someone! We are not a Business, having to stay open to make money! - we open when and if we can. We take this role of ‘Host’ as a Vocation from the Lord to be his Missionary and his Prophet. Actually, the Cafe has, at times, functioned well with just one Host. The success of our Evangelisation Cafe depends on us. The more we speak to others of our Cafe, inviting them to visit us, the more successful it will be. Please invite members of your families, your friends, your neighbours and colleagues. Please check when it is your turn to be a Host (or a Baker!). Please see this role as a Calling, a Vocation from the Lord which you are generously telling the Lord you will do”. Thank you so much for your trust in the good Lord
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.