A new Oratory for Bournemouth will be launched this month, the Diocese of Portsmouth has announced. It will be the sixth community of Oratorians in Britain.
The community was first announced last year but its establishment was delayed after Fr David Hutton, one of the founders, became ill. Fr Hutton died of cancer in March.
The new Oratory “in formation” will begin on May 31. Its community will consist of Canon Peter Edwards, Fr Dominic Jacob and one student brother, and it will be based at Sacred Heart Church, off Richmond Hill in the city centre.
The Oratory will be devoted to offering sacramental support through daily Mass and Confessions, Eucharistic Adoration and formation in the spiritual life, alongside the pastoral care of students, the homeless and others in need.
The website of the church notes that it is “surrounded by university accommodation, many language school students, diverse ethnic communities and homelessness, beside long-standing residents, the hospitality industry, business and commerce.”
Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth said: “The diocese has areas of real deprivation. There are immigrants and foreign nationals from eastern Europe and overseas, as well as university and college students away from home. This is a pastoral situation that is urgent.”
He said he was “delighted” by the new Oratory. “We need to engage with those who have not yet met the Lord Jesus in person nor taken to heart the salvation and eternal life He offers.”
Dioceses accept failings over priest jailed for abuse
The dioceses of Brentwood and East Anglia have admitted they should have taken “more robust action” after claims of sex abuse by a priest at a children’s home.The dioceses said they accepted the findings of an independent review that failings had been made.
In 2015 Fr Anthony McSweeney was jailed for three years for offences carried out at Grafton Close Children’s Home in Hounslow, west London, between 1979 and 1981. Although he had not abused anyone directly, he had encouraged his friend John Stingemore, the manager of the home, to do so. Stingemore was found dead weeks before his own trial.
McSweeney came under suspicion when his housekeeper discovered a collection of child pornography videos in 1998 when he was parish priest of St Peter’s in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex. She reported this to the diocesan authorities, but no action was taken. Instead McSweeney was transferred to St George’s parish in Norwich and was not arrested until a victim came forward years later.
The dioceses said in their statement that such a case would nowadays be passed straight to police.
