Bishops of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales discuss protecting life, Jubilee Year, Safeguarding and War

l-r: Archbishop Farrell, Archbishop Martin, Bishop Hudson, Cardinal Nichols, Greg Pope, Bishop Magee, Fr Maguiness, Bishop Keenan, Mgr McGuinness. Image: CBCEW

Source: CBCEW/Irish Catholic Bishops Conference

A group of bishops, led by the presidents of the Catholic Bishops' Conferences of England and Wales, Ireland and Scotland, met in London for two days, from 9 to 10 January, to discuss the issues of the day and to share times of fraternal prayer and reflection.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster and President of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, hosted the group, that included Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, President of the Irish Bishops' Conference, and Bishop John Keenan, President of the Bishops' Conference of Scotland and Bishop of Paisley.

The presidents were joined by bishops from the three episcopal conferences to convene what is called the 'Liaison Committee'. It meets annually and is an expression of unity and solidarity between the Catholic bishops of the three territories. The group includes the General Secretaries of the episcopal conferences.

Among the topics discussed were life issues, and in particular proposed assisted suicide legislation affecting all the jurisdictions, migration, conflict in the Holy Land, safeguarding, the Jubilee year, and other matters of common concern.

The Episcopal gathering comprised the following:

Ireland

Archbishop Eamon Martin
President, Irish Bishops' Conference
Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of All Ireland

Archbishop Dermot Farrell
Vice-President, Irish Bishops' Conference
Archbishop of Dublin

Monsignor Joseph McGuinness
General Secretary, Irish Bishops' Conference

England and Wales

Cardinal Vincent Nichols
President, Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales
Archbishop of Westminster

Bishop Nicholas Hudson
Episcopal Secretary, Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales
Auxiliary Bishop, Diocese of Westminster

Greg Pope
General Secretary, Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales

Scotland

Bishop John Keenan
President, Bishops' Conference of Scotland
Bishop of Paisley

Bishop Brian McGee
Bishop of Argyll and the Isles, Scotland

Father Gerard Maguiness
General Secretary, Bishops' Conference of Scotland