Birmingham is leading the way in the creation of a vibrant multi-faith city, according to the head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, the Most Rev Vincent Nichols. The Archbishop of Westminster, formerly the Archbishop of Birmingham, commended the city and its faith leaders for the way they had responded to modern-day challenges.
His comments were made during a reception at the Council House as part of the Faiths for the City conference being held by Birmingham University.
Archbishop Nichols told the conference: “I want to express my deep gratitude to everybody present – the way in which the city, the university and the faith leaders are so creative in their response to the challenge of modern living in a way that wants to bring the best of the faiths together for the good of the city.
“Birmingham leads the way in appreciating that, in order to create a modern, vibrant multi-faith city we have to tap into everything that is best in people’s lives and often their deepest, best motivations, come with a religious faith and perspective.”
The Archbishop also spoke about the city’s achievements such as the promotion of the religious education syllabus and about the tensions which need to be overcome.
He said: “The world has sometimes to face tensions between faiths, sometimes tensions with those in our society who want to marginalise or even belittle faith and tensions with those who are opposed to diversity in the community.”
Archbishop Nichols was Archbishop of Birmingham between 2000 and 2009. His successor, Bishop Bernard Longley, will be installed on December 8.
The appointment comes ahead of a significant year for Birmingham as the Pope is expected to visit the city in 2010.
One of the new archbishop’s first tasks is likely to be welcoming Pope Benedict XVI to Birmingham for the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman in 2010.
Cardinal Newman, who died in 1890, is predicted to become the first English-born saint who was not a martyr since the Reformation in the 16th century.
Archbishop Nichols added: “I hope that Cardinal Newman will be among the great figures of this city because he was a man of great academic achievement, of great religious sensitivity, of great personal integrity and great social concern; those are the virtues that make for a good city and that is what I would always wish for Birmingham.”
The conference, held at the university, is seen as a vehicle for establishing the Faiths for the City Programme and moving it forward into its next phase as a major force for defining a vision for the role of faiths in Birmingham’s future.
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