Pope Benedict XVI will impose the pallium, symbolic of metropolitan authority, on Archbishop Vincent Nichols

Today is the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, Pope Benedict XVI will impose the pallium, symbolic of metropolitan authority, on 34 archbishops who were appointed during the course of the past year. The pallium, a thin strip of white wool, is a liturgical vestment worn by metropolitan archbishops. It is conferred on newly appointed archbishops each year on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, which is a holiday at the Vatican. Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster, the newly installed leader of England's Catholic hierarchy, will also receive the pallium.

(CWN)

English schools should teach Christian moral principles, says archbishop

Archbishop Vincent Nichols, the newly installed head of the Westminster archdiocese, has argued that schools should develop the "innate spirituality" of young students, teaching sound moral principles. The archbishop went on to say that all schools do provide moral guidance. He said:

Schools of a religious character are upfront, overt and very reasoned about the values that shape the education, whereas I think often those that would claim to be neutral are covert in the values that they present to the children.

Most Reverend Vincent Gerard Nichols installed Eleventh Archbishop of Westminster

The Most Reverend Vincent Gerard Nichols has been installed as the Eleventh Archbishop of Westminster during a Mass of Installation held at Westminster Cathedral, from 12pm noon to 2pm on Thursday 21 May 2009, and attended by a congregation of 2,200 specially invited guests.

Amongst those present at the Mass of Installation were: Lord Guthrie, representing HRH Prince Charles; Rt Hon Paul Murphy representing The Prime Minister, Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP; The Duke of Norfolk; Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor; Cardinal Sean Brady; Cardinal Roger Mahoney; Cardinal Keith O’Brien; His Excellency, Archbishop Faustino Sainz Munoz; Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury; Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of York; The Lord Mayor of Westminster, Councilor Duncan Sandys; Francis Campbell, the British Ambassador to the Holy See; Sir Gus O' Donnell, Head of the Cabinet Office; 50 Catholic Bishops Including Rt Rev Michael Campbell OSA (Bishop of Lancaster) and Rt Rev Patrick O'Donoghue ( Emeritus Bishop of Lancaster); over 500 priests from the Archdiocese of Birmingham and the Diocese of Westminster together with MPs, Peers, Ambassadors and representatives of parishes, schools and Catholic societies and organisations.

The Mass of Installation was broadcast live in the UK on BBC2 and also around the world by EWTN, the Catholic Satellite Television Channel.

The Mass of Installation followed a Service of Solemn Vespers, which was held at Westminster Cathedral at 7pm on Wednesday 20th May. This was attended by Archbishop Vincent Nichols and an estimated 2,000 specially invited guests including Religious Sisters, Brothers and Priests and representatives from schools, parishes and Catholic societies and organisations from the Diocese of Westminster.
The ceremony of the Reception and Installation of the Archbishop of Westminster was carried out according to the ancient Catholic rite used in similar circumstances for the Reception and Installation of the Archbishops of Canterbury prior to the Reformation.

At 12 noon, to the sound of a specially composed fanfare, Archbishop Vincent Nichols entered Westminster Cathedral by the main West Door, and was greeted by the Provost of Westminster Cathedral, Canon Michael Brockie. He then processed to the High Altar where he joined over 150 Clergy in the Cathedral’s Sanctuary, including Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, 50 Catholic Bishops, the Provost and Chapter of Westminster Cathedral, Deans and the Vicar General of the Diocese of Westminster, Monsignori and ecumenical guests including Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The Most Reverend Vincent Gerard Nichols officially become the 11th Archbishop of Westminster at around 12.15 pm after the reading aloud of Pope Benedict XVI’s Apostolic Letter of Authority, or Papal Mandate, by Bishop John Arnold, Chancellor of the Diocese of Westminster, and the formula of Installation by the Provost of Westminster Cathedral, Canon Michael Brockie.

The Archbishop-Emeritus, His Eminence Cormac Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor then presented the new Archbishop with the Crozier, the bishop’s staff, symbolic of his office as bishop. The Provost and Canons of the Metropolitan Chapter then greeted the new Archbishop, followed by other representatives of the Diocesan clergy, ethnic chaplaincies, pastoral and administrative bodies.

New Archbishop of Westminster

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has today appointed the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, who has been Archbishop of Birmingham since March 2000, as the next Archbishop of Westminster. Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor as Archbishop of Westminster. The Cardinal will now become the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Westminster until Archbishop Nichols is installed at Westminster Cathedral on Thursday, 21 May 2009.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols said: “As the Cardinal so graciously says, it is for me something of a return. I spent 16 very happy years here in Westminster, eight of them as General Secretary of the Bishops’ Conference and eight of them as an Auxiliary Bishop to Cardinal Hume in North London. I learnt a great deal from him, not least about the demands of the office of the Archbishop of Westminster and I am daunted by the task that lies ahead.”

Archbishop Nichols will succeed Cardinal Cormac Murphy O’Connor, who has been Archbishop of Westminster since March 2000, becoming the 11th Archbishop of Westminster since the Restoration of the Hierarchy in 1850, when the diocesan structure was re-established.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor said: “I would like to welcome Archbishop Vincent back to the diocese, 17 years after he was ordained as an auxiliary Bishop in Westminster Cathedral by Cardinal Basil Hume. He has many friends and colleagues among the Bishops, priests, religious and lay people of the Diocese.“

Successor to the See of Westminster; Who shall it be?

The Independent has suggested that the Vatican is due to announce Cardinal Cormac's Murphy-O'Connor's successor to the See of Westminster this week and perhaps, as they suggest, as early as today! The three front runners still seem to be Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Birmingham, Archbishop Peter Smith of Cardiff and Bishop Malcolm McMahon OP of Nottingham. The Independent then lists numerous other possible outside candidates who the Vatican may be more in favour of.

Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Birmingham:
Nichols, a football-mad 64-year-old, was passed over by the Vatican last time around, largely because Rome considered him too liberal. Since then, he has emerged as a more orthodox defender of the Church, regularly appearing on TV to answer criticism of clerical paedophile abuse, as well as supporting adoption agencies that refuse to place children with same-sex couples. Some suggest he is the obvious front-runner but he is not the bookies favourite.

Peter Smith, Archbishop of Cardiff: Formerly the bookies' favourite, Battersea-born Smith was the Papal nuncio's first choice but many in the Vatican may regard him as being too liberal. Pope John Paul II made Smith the Bishop of East Anglia in 1995. The 65-year-old was sent to Cardiff in 2001 following the resignation of his predecessor amid a controversy about paedophile priests in the archdiocese. He is widely thought to have done a good job there.

Malcolm McMahon, Bishop of Nottingham: A left-wing Dominican in favour of the Latin Mass, McMahon was recently summoned to Rome and, alongside Smith and Nichols, is thought to be one of the three names on the "terna" list drawn up for the Papal nuncio. Courted controversy last year when he suggested there was no doctrinal reason why Catholic priests should not marry. In January Paddy Power suspended betting on McMahon after a surge of late bets.