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

ROTA FOR LECTORS – FEBRUARY 2026

By Webmaster • January 26, 2026
31 January 5pm Lisa 1st February 9am Richard; 11am Lorenza 7/8: 5pm Mutsa; 9am Phil; 11am Marian 14/15: 5pm Jim; 9am Mike Guckian; 11am Chris Mallows 21/22: 5pm Collette; 9am Gerry; 11am Chinwe  28: 5pm Claire 1st March: 9am Giannina; 11am Maggie

RETIRING COLLECTION NEXT WEEKEND (31 Jan/1 Feb)

By Webmaster • January 26, 2026
Our Retiring Collection next weekend will be for ‘Pax Christi’, the Catholic international Peace Movement, based on the Christian Gospel and inspired by Faith. ‘Pax Christi’ (the Peace of Christ) works with all who share a vision of a world where all people can live in peace, without fear or violence in any form.

EVANGELISATION CAFE (OLDE FORGE CAFE)

By Webmaster • January 26, 2026
Part of our parish response to the words of Fr Jim McManus (see this week’s ’Thought for the Week’) is the existence of our Evangelisation Cafe. The Cafe is, first and foremost, a way of encouraging new people who do not yet know the Lord Jesus, to get to know him through us. The Cafe as a place where retired people can have somewhere to go is not the reason for its existence. Nonetheless, of course, we do hope that the many retired people living in our area have meaningful and happy lives and feel that they can get to know the Lord Jesus through us, in the Cafe. Our Cafe is simply an attempt to break out of an inward-looking pastoral strategy built on maintaining things, to an outward-looking pastoral strategy built on ‘mission’, which is the very task that the Lord lays upon the shoulders of every adult Catholic person in our parish. The Cafe is not a place for us to simply sit down and enjoy sponsored food and drinks. It is, rather, a place where each of us is asked by the Lord to bring someone we know, but that someone we bring is to be a person who doesn’t yet know the Lord and his Church. The success of this project is entirely in our hands. Hopefully, one day, the Lord will say to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Now, enter into my Kingdom, your work for me is done.”? Social Workers do great work but we are not Social Workers; we are Missionaries of the Lord Jesus.

EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERS OF HOLY COMMUNION ROTA

By Webmaster • January 25, 2026
31 January : 5pm Linda 1st February: 9am Regina; 11am Patrick 7/8 : 5pm Paul; 9am Lizzie; 11am Lorenza 14/15 : 5pm Patricia; 9am Maggie; 11am Ross 21/22 : 5pm David; 9am Marian; 11am Angela 28 : 5pm Phil  1st March : 9am Margaret; 11am Simone 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.

WEEK DAY LECTORS

By WEBMASTER • January 25, 2026
Mon: Jim Tue: Giannina Wed: Lorenza Fri: Maggie

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

By Webmaster • January 25, 2026
Dear Parents, please make sure that you and your children arrive early for Sunday holy Mass so that the children, at the beginning of holy Mass, may make their way into the sacristy with our Catechists, to begin their own special reflection on the Sunday Gospels.

HOLY MASS INTENTION/STIPEND

By Webmaster • January 25, 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.

OLDE FORGE CAFE - FREE COFFEE AND CAKE FOR OUR VISITORS

By Webmaster • January 25, 2026
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.

BEQUEST, IN A WILL

By Webmaster • January 25, 2026
It is wise to write a Will so that the resources you have when the time comes for you to leave this world, goes to the people and organisations you wish. May I suggest that you might consider leaving a Bequest in your will to our parish or to our diocese or to our priest as well as to other causes. A gift in your will can enable us to continue to help people to know the Lord Jesus and his saving love. What a wonderful legacy you would be leaving behind.

OLD FORGE CAFE BAKER’S AND HOST'S ROTA

By Webmaster • January 25, 2026
OLDE FORGE CAFE BAKERS/PROVIDERS ROTA JANUARY 2026 31: Giannina FEBRUARY 2026 7: Caroline 14: Kinga 21: Chinwe 28: Gerry 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 JANUARY 2026 26: Lorenza, Paul 31: Maggie, Patrick February 2026 1: Jim, Ros 3: Lorenza, Patricia 7: Gabrielle, Giannina 8: Simone, Jenny 10: Linda, Bridget 14: Jim, Collette 15: Leslie, Marian 17: Linda, Bridget 21: David, Mary 22: Regina, Phil 24: Lorenza, Patricia 28: Lizzie, Paul 1st March: Giannina, Jim 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