Holocaust-denier is excommunicated

A HOLOCAUST-denying Roman Catholic bishop, the Rt Revd Richard Williamson, is set to be excommunicated after he consecrated a priest as bishop without papal approval. The Catholic Herald reported last week that Bishop Williamson, a member of the Society of St Pius X which opposes Second Vatican Council reforms, ordained a fellow member of the Society. RC canon law provides for automatic excommunication in these circumstances, but the Vatican has yet to comment. Bishop Williamson was previously excommunicated along with other clerics in the Society in 1989, but was rehabilitated by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009, despite having claimed that no Jews were gassed in Nazi concentration camps.

New York priest on drink-driving charge

A NEW YORK priest, the Revd Diane Reiners, has been arrested after allegedly driving while under the influence of alcohol, the Bishop of New York, the Rt Revd Andrew Dietsche has said. Noting the recent charges brought against the Bishop of Maryland, the Rt Revd Heather Cook, for drink-driving and manslaughter, Bishop Dietsche wrote in a letter to the diocese that he would be discussing alcohol addiction at an upcoming priests' conference, and urged clergy who struggled with drinking to seek help.

Kettering priest to be Episcopalian Dean of Chicago

A PARISH priest from Kettering has been named as the new Dean of the Episcopal Cathedral in Chicago. The Revd Dominic Barrington, Rector of St Peter and St Paul, Kettering, will begin his new post in September, after 12 years in the parish. As well as spending a year as a student at a theological college in California, Mr Barrington has built up a number of contacts in the US through his work leading pilgrimages to Israel and Palestine and his support of Christians who live there.

China halts church demolitions

A CAMPAIGN of demolitions of churches across China appears to have stopped, the Daily Telegraph has reported. Hundreds of churches have been torn down by the authorities over the past 18 months, but a bishop from the official state-controlled Church said that Beijing has ordered a halt to the demolitions. The Chinese government has previously insisted that all demolitions were of illegally constructed buildings.