Media priest takes break

By Luke Coppen
ONE OF England's most prominent Catholic priests has left the thriving London parish
where he worked for 19 years.
Fr Oliver McTernan left the parish of St Francis of Assisi, Notting Hill, this month for a sabbatical year.
A writer and broadcaster, best known for his regular contributions to BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day slot, joined the parish in 1981. Since then, he has seen Sunday Mass attendance grow from 350 to over 1,000.
Fr McTernan's informal style was an instant success with the cosmopolitan residents of Notting Hill.
The congregation, drawn from over 60 nations, responded warmly to his habit of preaching in the aisle and allowing children to sit near the altar.
Fr McTernan has also keenly promoted dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. He was a key adviser to the late Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Basil Hume, when the latter made several key visits to the Moscow Orthodox Patriarchate to discuss tensions between the Churches arising from the collapse of the Soviet bloc.
In March 1993, he helped found the St Francis and St Sergius Trust Fund, which supports joint Catholic-Orthodox social welfare projects in the former Soviet Union.
One recent venture was the building of a charity centre in Moscow dedicated to providing care for homeless children and young adults suffering from alcohol and drug addiction.