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.