Our desire in this section is to begin a dialogue concerning the matters which are important to the men and women who live in the rural places of our diocese; engaging with the agricultural and environmental issues that require attention as well as the evangelistic and pastoral.
We will continue to update and develop this work as time goes on. In the meantime, you will find regular reflections/blogs uploaded onto this page.
Useful Links:
Shearing and Wool
You’d be surprised how many intelligent and otherwise well-informed people think that shearing a sheep means removing its skin too. So the next time you see a shaven-headed young man, ponder this. And the martyrdom of St. Bartholomew too.
Green… because I’m Catholic?
Sr Margaret Atkins argues that the Church promotes care for the environment.
Web-Based Rural Resources for Scottish Catholics
Neither any of the individual eight Catholic Dioceses nor the Bishops’ Conference indicate on their websites that they have persons or groups specifically responsible for rural ministry.
It’s the Ecology Stupid
Disclaimer: This address to the RC Rural Conference at Malton in 2016 draws heavily on examples and events which were current at the time. Many are still relevant; too many, perhaps. Readers should recognise that content, factual in 2016, cannot be assumed to apply today; and should not, therefore, use the material out of context.
A walkabout outside for those who can’t.
A study which was recently reported on the radio revealed that a significant proportion of people had no access at all, especially in cities, to green spaces. Paragraph 44 of LAUDATO SI’ declares that “We were not meant to be inundated by cement, asphalt, glass and metal, and deprived of physical contact with nature”. It […]
A Rural View of Covid-19
The grief and sadness of over 30,000 deaths from Covid-19 is a sobering chapter in British history, and the altruism of key workers a matter of pride for the nation. Some of us farmers have to confess a guilty secret – provided we are not afflicted, we are almost relishing the restrictions. Isolation is such […]
Rural Catholic
Fr Robert Miller is writing from the Deanery of Salisbury Cathedral – a parish priest and National Rural officer for the Bishop’s conference of England And Wales. He and another Priest began focusing on the rural issues affecting the communities in their parishes, from milk prices to loneliness. St Osmund’s Catholic Church, in the shadow […]