Cantab cheerio row

THE outgoing Catholic chaplain at Cambridge University has attacked the way Fisher House is funded, and has suggested that those consulted on the nomination of his successor are "products of the 1960s".
Fr Christopher Jenkins, who has been chaplain at Cambridge's Fisher House, for six years, made his comments in the I 9 8 8 Fisher House Newsletter, published last month.
Before departing to take up a new role as headmaster of Belmont School, Fr Jenkins suggested that the funding of the chaplaincy, controlled by the Cambridge University Catholic Association (CUCA), left too little money free to deal with day-to-day running.
He also outlined a difference of opinion with the Cambridge Catholic Education Board, responsible for advising their chairman, Bishop David Konstant, on the naming of Fr Jenkins' successor.
Members of the board favoured a more outward looking chaplaincy, dealing more with the everyday challenges of student life.
Professor Tim Smilie, who retired recently from both bodies, passed off the attack, saying that Fr Jenkins' "great virtue was his candour".
Professor Smilie dismissed suggestions that CUCA should spend more of its capital on Fisher House.
He wished Fr Jenkins every success at Belmont. "I've always felt his heart lies in looking after schoolchildren".