Catholics at Sudbury. Suffolk, have asked for permission to use a redundant Anglican church for their main Sunday morning Mass.
The request has been put to the friends of St Peters, who are acting as the local agents for the Church of England's Redundant Churches I und. For the past two years they have been promoting the use of the building for a wide range of recreational and community purposes
Fr Anthony Foreman, parish p:iest ol the Church of Our Lady and St John at the Croft, Sudbury, said this week. "Our Church is quite inadequate for' out needs now It is all right for everyday use but nowhere near big enough to accommodate the congregation of 250 or more on a Sunday morning."
The congregation has grown considerably as a result of the town taking in the overspill from the Greater London Council, he said
Mr Anthony Moore the Friends' chairman, said that they had accepted the request "in principle." However, he pointed out that there were considerable legal problems since the relevant pastoral measure relating to the use of redundant churches restricted anyone to "occasional use."
No decision has yet been taken. but Mr Moore said they were now looking into the problem to see what could be done -Basically we welcome this sort dine, he said
Ecumenical relations in the area are good. Catholics in the neighbouring village of Great Cornard already use the Anglican Parish Church of St Andrew's every Sunday, and have a joint church council.
Fr Foreman emphasised that there was absolutely no intention on the part of the Catholics to "take over the place."
Emergency grant for prisoners of war
Christian Aid has made an emergency grant of 15.000 towards a major programme to assist 2,500 prisoners of war in the remote Tibesti atea of northern Chad.