Mission control

FR PAUL Cannon has been appointed the new director of the Catholic Missionary Society (CMS). Fr Cannon, who has been working with the society for the past four years, said: "I look forward to this exciting and challenging role which I will fulfil to the best of my ability." The CMS runs about 40 weeklong missions in Catholic parishes throughout England and Wales each year.
Over 100 teachers from Dorset's Catholic schools gathered recently at the College of the Sacred Heart in Weymouth for their fourth in-service training day. The year's theme was "the sacraments", and was led by Nigel Bavidge, religious education officer for the Leeds diocese.
Prime Minister John Major visited the grant-maintained Oratory School in Fulham, London, last week to inaugurate a £2.3 million arts Mock. He also visited a food technology classroom, where students were working on a project for the physically and mentally handicapped.
Fr Patrick Cope was elected as the new chair of the National Association of School Chaplains at their recent annual conference, which look place at Hazlewood Castle in Tadcaster. Fr Cope is a priest of the Middlesbrough diocese who presently works as the diocesan youth officer.
Winners of a diocese-wide competition run by Catholic Social Services, the welfare agency of the Liverpool diocese, received their prizes at a presentation last weekend. Six year old Daryl Love was the winner of the junior section and Michael Brady, aged 12, won first prize in the senior section.
Bishop Cormac Murphy O'Connor recently celebrated mass at Christ the Prince of Peace, Weyhridge, on the occasion of the silver jubilee of the Catholic Women's League in the diocese of Arundel and Brighton. Approximately 200 members gathered from all parts of the diocese.