Catholic Parliamentary & Public Affairs Internship run by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (@catholicEW)
Follows/RTs ≠ endorsements
In the middle of March, we travelled to the Holy Land for our first pilgrimage of the internship programme. We were joined by Bishop John Arnold and Bishop Richard Moth, who greatly enhanced the spiritual experience and our understanding of the Holy Places.
Before leaving, we stopped off for an overnight stay at the Benedictine monastery in Abu Ghosh. Centred around a Crusader Church in which original 12th century frescoes can still be seen, male and female religious pray together. It was a blessing to join them.
Last Friday we met Martin Foley, the CEO of Stella Maris. It was hugely insightful to learn about the hardships facing seafarers, and the vital work that Stella Maris do in order to support them in times of need. Thank you so much Martin for your time!
At the end of last year we met with a former intern, Angela, for an interactive session on careers. It was great to hear about her experience working in the charity sector and to receive guidance on applying for future roles.
Spot Angela’s guinea pigs in the photo below!
It was fascinating to discuss the development of scripture with Fleur Dorrell from the @biblesociety before Christmas. We learned lots about how to contextualise divine revelation, and how we can engage with scripture at both the personal and philosophical level. Thanks Fleur!
@DarrenMillarMS@MikeHedgesAM @PeredurPlaidAS In the afternoon, the Archbishop of Cardiff said Mass for us at Cardiff Castle. This was a particularly moving opportunity to give thanks for our faith in a place of such significance to Welsh Catholic history.
We really enjoyed our recent trip to Cardiff. It was great to meet @DarrenMillarMS@MikeHedgesAM and @PeredurPlaidAS at the Senedd, and to hear their insights about devolution, the Welsh political process and the construction of the building itself.
Meet the interns:
Hi, I’m Mary! I’m from Glasgow and I’m doing a placement in parliament. I’m looking forward to learning more about how the church tackles social issues and visiting the Holy Land.
Meet the Interns:
Hey I’m Ciara and I’m doing an internship with @CAFOD working in government relations. This year I’m really excited to learn more about CAFODs advocacy work especially in relation to their campaign on food systems given the current global food crisis.
Today, we pray to all the saints—but I think we can remember in a special way the littlest ones, who don’t make huge structural changes in the church, who survive the time of great distress. https://t.co/RnmgmcNKgo
Meet the Interns:
Hi, I’m Joseph! I recently graduated from Oxford, where I studied History. I’ll be working with @MikeKaneMP in Parliament. I’m looking forward to grappling with issues relevant to Catholic Social Teaching, particularly labour rights and care for the planet.