Bishops' Conference of England and Wales
NEWS
Arhcbishop O’Toole celebrated the “deep sense of community” and “long tradition of solidarity” which he has encountered in Wales, and expressed his thanks especially to “to those who serve our communities with quiet fidelity, through education, health and social care, charitable service, and civic engagement.”
The Catholic community’s charitable and cultural contribution to Wales was celebrated in the Senedd Cymru on Wednesday, 28 January 2026.
More than 100 people attended the event, including the Most Reverend Mark O’Toole, Archbishop of Cardiff-Menevia; the Right Reverend Peter Brignall, Bishop of Wrexham; Jane Hutt, Labour MS for the Vale of Glamorgan and Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice; Delyth Jewell, MS for the South Wales East region and Deputy Leader of Plaid Cymru; further Senedd Members; the Lord Mayor of Cardiff, Cllr Adrian Robson; representatives from Catholic schools, charities, chaplaincies and the two Catholic dioceses in Wales. Also in attendance were senior representatives from the other Christian denominations and major faith communities in Wales.
In his message for the 60th World Day of Social Communications, Pope Leo XIV highlights the importance of ensuring that technological innovation, particularly artificial intelligence, serves the human person rather than replacing or diminishing human dignity.
Face and voice are unique traits of every person and form the foundation of human identity and relationships. Reflecting on this truth, Pope Leo XIV introduces his Message for the 60th World Day of Social Communications, which will be celebrated on 17 May 2026, with a focus on digital communication and artificial intelligence, highlighting the need to protect human dignity in an age increasingly shaped by technological innovation.
Bishop Paul McAleenan has shared his message for Racial Justice Sunday, which takes place this year on Sunday, 1 February, in which he urges all people to engage in encounters founded on respect and love for the other.
The theme for Racial Justice Sunday is: “Whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:21): Promoting Racial Justice in our Parishes.
As part of this year’s Holy Land Co-ordination, a group of bishops and representatives from Catholic organisations visited the St James Vicariate in Jerusalem. The St James Vicariate serves seven communities of Hebrew-speaking Catholics across Israel, as well as a small community of Russian-speaking Catholics.
Speaking to the delegation, Fr Piotr Zelazko, Patriarchal Vicar of the St James Vicariate, said: “We are part of this society, but also as Catholics, we are part of the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, and so we are an integral part of the local Catholic Church here.”
On the third day of the Holy Land Co-ordination, 19 January, the bishops and delegates participated in a discussion titled, From Declaration to Dialogue: Nostra Aetate in Today’s Israel, held with members of the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue, based in Jerusalem.
In an interview following the group discussion, Dr Sarah Bernstein, Executive Director of the Rossing Center, explained the foundations of the Center’s work in terms of interreligious peacebuilding:
“Interreligious peacebuilding is building a peace between people of different religions, but also different national groups. So in Israel-Palestine, that means promoting peace and building peace between Israelis and Palestinians, between Jews, Christians, and Muslims.”
On Monday, 19 January, bishops and delegates from the Holy Land Co-ordination met with Rabbis for Human Rights, a long-running Israeli NGO made up of a membership of 175 Israeli rabbis from across the different denominations of Judaism.
Anton Goodman, a member of Rabbis for Human Rights, explained the approach the organisation takes to its work:
“We really come together in understanding that human rights and Jewish values not only go well side by side, but they integrally link to each other, feed into each other, and strengthen each other. Based on these beliefs and these deep-seated commitments to human rights, we work with populations who are struggling with human rights abuses, who are facing sufferings and hardships that they should not be facing.”
Sneaking in on the penultimate day of January is the first At the Foot of the Cross podcast of 2026.
Plenty of Episcopal news since our last podcast with Installations and Ordinations on the horizon. Firstly, just before Christmas, Pope Leo XIV announced that Archbishop-elect Richard Moth, until then the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, would be the next Archbishop of Westminster succeeding Cardinal Vincent Nichols. Archbishop-elect Richard will be installed the twelfth Archbishop of Westminster in the Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood on Saturday, 14 February.
Monday, 2 February sees the Episcopal Ordination of Bishop-elect Gerard Bradley as an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Southwark.
The third piece of diocesan news is to offer thanks to Bishop Terence Drainey who has retired after almost 18 years leading the Diocese of Middlesbrough. Bishop Marcus Stock has been appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese, whilst retaining his current office as Bishop of Leeds.
Archbishop Mark O’Toole, Archbishop of Cardiff-Menevia, and Bishop Peter Brignall, Bishop of Wrexham, have issued a joint statement ahead of a Senedd debate and vote on assisted suicide legislation.
The Bishops express their deep concern for the proposal which would “represent a profound change in how society responds to those who are terminally ill”, and propose instead to “strengthen palliative and end-of-life care so that every person can live their final days with dignity, comfort, and peace.”
Members of the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament, will be asked to decide whether Wales should give its consent to Westminster’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill — a law that would legalise assisted suicide. This would be a profound change for Wales and would mean that, for the first time, doctors could be asked to assist a patient in ending their life intentionally.
If enacted, this bill would put the most vulnerable in our society at risk of coercion. The conscientious objection clause for doctors is inadequate. Furthermore, parliament has explicitly rejected an amendment whereby care homes and hospices could opt out of facilitating assisted suicide on their premises and yet many care homes and hospices will want no involvement. Even with stricter rules, experience from other countries shows that once assisted suicide is introduced, the safeguards soon loosen and those who are elderly, disabled, or feel they are a burden begin to feel subtle pressure to choose death.
Write to a Member of the Senedd
The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill has passed through the House of Commons and is now with the House of Lords. Our clear principled objection to the Bill remains. The House of Lords has a responsibility to scrutinise the Bill in depth and reject it if necessary.
Unlike MPs, Members of the House of Lords do not have constituents, meaning there is not a Peer whose job it is to represent you based on the area of the country in which you live. For this reason you should take some time to think about which Peer you will write to and why, such as whether you have a personal or professional connection with them, or you have professional expertise in medicine or healthcare.
Please visit this link for full guidance to help you write to a Peer.
1 February 2026
Ahead of Racial Justice Sunday 2026, Bishop Paul McAleenan, as Lead Bishop for Racial Justice, welcomes this years theme - Whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:21): Promoting Racial Justice in our Parishes.
Bishop McAleenan said: “Where racial justice is concerned, we must never tire of repeating what has been said before, though we always seek new ways to convey our message. Racial Justice Sunday 2026 is devoted to the promotion of racial justice in our Catholic parishes across England and Wales and society and an encouragement to be conscious of the need for justice in all its forms.
2 February 2026
In 1997 St John Paul II instituted a ‘World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life’ on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas Day, which highlights the fact that Christ is the light of the world through the symbolic lighting of the candles. Just like the candles we too, the consecrated men and women need to share the light of Christ to all the people. Each year the Church has thanked God for the gift of the different forms of consecrated life and pray that our Church will continue to be enriched by the life and witness of consecrated men and women.
7 - 14 February 2026
On the Feast of St Joseph, 19 March 2026, will be the tenth anniversary of Pope Francis’ Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia – “On Love in the Family.” To prepare for this anniversary, we invite you from the beginning of National Marriage Week, 7-14 February until 19 March 2026, to reflect on the central role that marriage and family life play in our Church and in wider society.
19 February 2026
An in-person and online event from 7pm - 9pm on Thursday, 19 February 2026 examining the challenges facing the Christians of the Middle East in these turbulent times.
International Lawyer and consultant on the Middle East, North Africa, and Gulf States, Dr Harry Hagopian, is joined by Dr Ruth Valerio from Embrace the Middle East, an ecumenical Christian charity working to help marginalised and vulnerable communities in the region.
St George's Roman Catholic Church