Pope Francis meets FSSP head, confirms right to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass

Pope Francis met with the superior general of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) on Thursday, confirming that restrictions on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass don’t apply to the order.

The private meeting between the pope and Father Andrzej Komorowski, who was accompanied by two priests from his order, came at the invitation of Pope Francis and followed a request from the FSSP.

According to a press release from the FSSP, the meeting was an opportunity to showcase “deep gratitude to the Holy Father” and to discuss the “liturgical specificity of the Fraternity of St. Peter.” 

The FSSP was established on July 18, 1988, as a society of apostolic life of pontifical right by the Holy See, a canonical status that was granted by Pope John Paul II.

At the heart of the FSSP’s charism is the celebration of the Mass and the sacraments according to the extraordinary form of the Roman rite, also known as the Tridentine Mass, Traditional Latin Mass, or “Usus Antiquior.” 

The FSSP’s statement noted that the priests shared with the pope “the difficulties encountered” in applying the pope’s Feb. 11, 2022, decree addressed to the fraternity,” in which he confirmed the right of the order to celebrate the Mass “according to the typical editions of the liturgical books, namely the Missal, the Ritual, the Pontifical, and the Roman Breviary, in force in the year 1962.” 

“The pope was very understanding and invited the Fraternity of St. Peter to continue to build up ecclesial communion ever more fully through its own proper charism,” the statement said. 

The FSSP was founded by 12 priests and 20 seminarians who were formerly part of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), a canonically irregular traditionalist priestly society established by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1970. Lefebvre, one of the most influential leaders in the traditionalist movement, was excommunicated by Pope John Paul II in 1988 when he ordained four bishops for the SPPX, which was against the expressed prohibition of the Holy See.

The Feb. 29 meeting came amid a broad crackdown on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass following Pope Francis’ 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes. 

The papal decree severely curtailed the permission granted to priests for the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass. Pope Benedict XVI, in his 2007 apostolic letter Summorum Pontificum, had previously allowed all priests to say Mass using the Roman Missal of 1962 without having to seek their bishop’s permission.

Traditionis Custodes reversed course and explicitly stated that it was the “exclusive competence” of the bishop to authorize Traditional Latin Masses in his diocese.

The Feb. 29 meeting between the FSSP and the pope is their second such encounter in recent years and comes after news broke that Cardinal Vincent Nichols, archbishop of Westminster, canceled the celebration of the Easter Triduum according to the old rite. 

At the first private audience, held on Feb. 4, 2022, the FSSP asked for clarification regarding the implementation of Traditionis Custodes with respect to the Ecclesia Dei communities. In a press release, the fraternity noted that during the “very cordial meeting,” Pope Francis “expressed that he was very impressed by the approach taken by its founders, their desire to remain faithful to the Roman Pontiff, and their trust in the Church.” 

“In the course of the audience, the pope made it clear that institutes such as the Fraternity of St. Peter are not affected by the general provisions of the motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, since the use of the ancient liturgical books was at the origin of their existence and is provided for in their constitutions,” the communique continued.

Since its foundation in 1988, the FSSP has grown to become the largest of the Ecclesia Dei communities. According to internal 2023 figures, the FSSP currently has 368 priests, 22 deacons, and 179 seminarians. The average age of their members is 39.

The FSSP is present in 146 dioceses, celebrates Mass in 246 locations, and counts 48 personal parishes. One of their most active parishes is Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini in Rome, which is one of the main sites for the annual Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage.   

The FSSP currently operates two international seminaries. Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary located in Denton, Nebraska, is for English-speaking seminarians, while the seminary of St. Peter in Wigratzbad-Opfenbach, Germany, is divided into two sections for German- and French-speaking seminarians. 

As a pontifical right society, the FSSP answers to the pope. The FSSP formerly operated within the framework of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, established by Pope John Paul II. However, in 2019, Pope Francis suppressed the commission and put the fraternity under the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. 

Bill approved in France that makes abortion a constitutional right

French politicians have approved a bill that will enshrine a woman’s right to an abortion in the country’s constitution during a historic joint session of parliament at the Palace of Versailles.

The bill was approved in an overwhelming 780-72 vote, and nearly the entire joint session stood in a long-standing ovation.

There were jubilant scenes of celebration all over France as women’s rights activists hailed the measure promised by President Emmanuel Macron following a rollback of abortion rights in court rulings in the United States.

Both houses of parliament, the National Assembly and the Senate, have already adopted a bill to amend Article 34 of the French constitution to specify a woman’s right to an abortion is guaranteed.

Low turnout in Iran’s election, a slap for Supreme Leader Khamenei

As predicted, elections to the Iranian parliament (Majlis) and the Assembly of Experts, the body that will pick the successor of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, saw a record low turnout with just over 40 per cent.

This is the lowest since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979, a sign of disaffection with the regime and the absence of moderate and reformist camps since their candidates were largely denied the right to run.

Three days after the 1 March elections, no official results have been announced yet while ballots continue to be counted.

Even the turnout has not been made public, but the most optimistic estimate – cited by IRNA, Iran’s official news agency, puts it at around 41 per cent of the 61 million eligible voters, the lowest figure ever recorded.

In this election cycle, moderate or reformist candidates failed to qualify while the country continues to be in the grips of a deep economic crisis exacerbated by international sanctions over the regime’s nuclear programme.

In the previous elections in 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the turnout was 42.57 per cent despite the health emergency and lockdowns.

A record 15,200 people applied this time to run for the 290-seat parliament, while 144 were seeking a seat on the 88-member Assembly of Experts, a body of recognised religious scholars, which so far has included only men.

The pro-reform newspaper Etemad reported that turnout was low in large cities, but closer to previous levels in smaller cities and the countryside.

The number of blank ballots is reportedly high as well.

In the capital, Tehran, the turnout was about 25 per cent according to press sources with hard-line right-wing candidates taking 12 of the 30 seats up for grabs, while some will be decided in a runoff election in April or May.

In a warning to the authorities, pro-government newspaper Iran Daily called the low turnout "a wake-up call" that should prompt them to "redouble their efforts" to boost their base.

Pro-reform Ham Mihan noted that "the soul of the elections was lost" while the turnout was "far from victorious", which could have "political repercussions" for Iran’s political system.

According to the Associated Press (AP), hard-line and radical groups won at least 200 of the 245 seats already decided. The other 45 Majlis are considered moderate, conservative, or independent.

Overall, only 11 women were elected, down from the previous parliament, which had 16.

In the moderate and pro-reform camps, former President Hassan Rouhani voted despite being excluded from the Assembly of Experts, where he had sat 24 years.

By contrast, dissidents and regime opponents note that another former president, the reformist Mohammad Khatami, chose not to vote, saying that these were “very far from free and competitive elections".

Some see his decision to boycott the poll as a victory; others question his motivations, noting that he went against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who said that voting was a “religious duty”.

Catholic Church in Hungary is deeply politicized—and shrinking

Just a few days before Christmas, the former Hungarian President Katalin Novak praised church-state relations in Hungary.

“Over the past two days, I welcomed Hungarian church leaders from inside and outside Hungary,” she wrote on X. “This is a tradition and clearly indicates that in Hungary, the state and the churches, Christian and Jewish denominations work well together for the people.”

Photos in her post included religious leaders shaking hands, bowing their heads in prayer and listening attentively while Ms. Novak, who had performed a symbolic and diplomatic role as Hungarian president, spoke from a podium.

 As in some of her other posts on X, she boasted about the visit of Pope Francis to Hungary last year. In another post, she celebrated the last days of Advent, highlighting her attendance at a crowded Mass. 

(Ms. Novak resigned on Feb. 9 after a public uproar followed revelations that she had pardoned a man convicted of helping to cover up sexual abuse in a children’s home.)

Even as Prime Minister Victor Orban positions his government as one of the last defenders of Christian culture in Europe, religious affiliation in Hungary has dropped to a record low.

While the former president emphasized a strong religiosity in Hungary, some replies on X challenged her sense that church-state relations in the country were perceived as strong and mutually beneficial among other Hungarians.

One poster disparaged Cardinal Peter Erdo, who has led the Archdiocese of Esztergom-Budapest since 2003, accusing him of acting as a puppet of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. 

Another charged that Ms. Novak was only “pretending” to be a follower of Christ. A third respondent complained that the government was not addressing the real concerns of Hungarians, noting that most people were more concerned about high taxes than church-state relations.

The responses suggest a more complex relationship between church and state in Hungary than the Orban government perhaps cares to acknowledge. And even as Mr. Orban positions his government as one of the last defenders of Christian culture in Europe, religious affiliation in Hungary has dropped to a record low.

Hungary is a Catholic country with a strong Protestant presence, but in its latest census, published late last year, a majority of Hungarians, 57 percent, failed to declare an affiliation in any faith tradition: Forty percent did not answer the question about affiliation at all, and 17 percent declared “no religion” after being asked which church they belonged to. The census outcome marks the first time that religious identity has fallen below 50 percent in Hungary.

The Catholic Church in Hungary saw the steepest loss of membership, dropping 30 percent since the last census in 2011. 

Now 1.1 million fewer Hungarians identify as Catholics than 10 years ago. 

The contemporary decline reflects a long-term trend. Two decades ago, over half of Hungarians identified as Catholic; today only 28 percent do.

Hungary is a Catholic country with a strong Protestant presence, but in its latest census a majority of Hungarians failed to declare an affiliation in any faith tradition.

The Hungarian Catholic bishops’ conference acknowledged that the church in Hungary is subject to the same dynamics as the rest of Europe—societies marked by decades of secularization and decline in traditional religious practice. 

“International trends can also be observed in the census data, from which Hungary and within this our Catholic communities are no exception. This is also a task for the Hungarian Catholic Church,” the bishops said in the statement reflecting on the census data.

Gergley Rosta, a Hungarian-born sociologist at the University of Munich, agreed with the bishops, calling the latest numbers in Hungary a reflection of steady and broad European secularization that reaches back—in Hungary’s case—to change that began even before the communist era. 

The secular advance was halted briefly in the late 1980s and into the 1990s as church membership grew, he said, possibly part of a reactionary movement against communism. 

By the end of the 1990s, however, church affiliation leveled off before resuming a decline that continues into the new century, he said.

But even as the Catholic Church in Hungary lost membership steeply under Mr. Orban, it has been lavished with financial and practical support by his government. 

Botond Feledy is a political analyst and the deputy director at the Jesuit European Social Center in Brussels. He said that when Mr. Orban and his Fidesz Party gained leadership in 2010, most of the church property nationalized under communism remained under the control of the Hungarian government.

Seeking to firm up public support for his political agenda, Mr. Orban sought first to improve relations with faith groups in Hungary, particularly the Catholic Church and the Calvinist Reformed Church, the largest Protestant denomination in the country. Returning confiscated properties was one way to improve his standing with Hungary’s churches.

The property restoration, said Peter Zachar, a political scientist at the Ludovik University of Public Service, was a tremendous opportunity for the Catholic Church to rebuild its institutions in the post-communist era. 

According to Mr. Zachar, from 2010 to 2020, the number of Catholic primary schools in Hungary almost doubled, increasing from 9.4 percent of all schools in Hungary to 17 percent. 

Secondary schools increased from 10.4 percent to 25 percent of all high schools.

Exploiting such culture-war issues, Prime Minister Orban has flooded Hungarians with “excessive propaganda on illegal migration and L.G.B.T.Q. issues.”

Other church institutions like nursing homes and services for the poor have also increased. And under Mr. Orban, Hungarian taxpayers are footing the bill for the maintenance and upkeep of churches, Mr. Zachar said.

“Many believers are pleased that their church building has been renovated, that the village parish has new and modern heating in its communal areas and a modern church-run school, and that the church has a strong and assertive presence in the media,” Mr. Zachar said.

In 2016, responding to the migrant crisis that first erupted across Europe in 2015, Mr. Orban also established the State Secretariat for Assistance to Persecuted Christians within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as Hungary Helps, a state-funded development agency that provides aid to Middle Eastern and African countries with a particular focus on assisting persecuted Christians to allow them to remain in their homelands.

“As a result of [the secretariat’s] existence, the government, and Viktor Orban in particular, is happy to meet with church leaders, to invite bishops of the Christian churches of the Middle East to Hungary and to project the image of [Hungary as the] ‘bastion of Christianity’ to the outside world,” Mr. Zachar said.

He adds that Mr. Orban, a Reformed Calvinist, is also regularly seen attending Catholic services and that “members of the government he leads feel obliged to regularly report on their presence at religious events.”

The prime minister “considers churches as allies, his friends, and the historic churches didn’t reject the friendship,” Mr. Rosta said.

The politicization of faith has made charitable debate nearly impossible.

According to Mr. Zachar, that alliance has led to some confusion about the role of church leaders and even popular resentment against the church in a nation that, despite the intentions of its leadership, remains a fundamentally secular state and society. 

And, as the disgruntled replies to Ms. Novak suggest, many Hungarians sense that churches have let themselves be captured by Mr. Orban.

The reality is a bit more complicated, Mr. Zachar believes. Rhetorically, Fidesz positions often overlap with basic Catholic doctrine, insisting that marriage can only be between a man and woman, for example, a position recently written into the Hungarian constitution by the Orban government. 

But even as Pope Francis has praised Hungary for upholding “traditional values,” he has strongly criticized its opposition to receiving Middle Eastern and African refugees.

Mr. Orban’s government ran a pro-life campaign in 2011, but according to Mr. Rosta, “there was never a serious discussion about changing the abortion law,” which allows broad access to abortion for up to 12 weeks and under certain circumstances up to 24 weeks. When it became clear that restricting abortion would result in losing votes, Mr. Orban stopped pressing the issue, he said.

Freedom of worship is enshrined in the Hungarian constitution, so any denomination can open a church. 

But churches can also establish legal status that allows them to enter into service agreements with the government, receive funding from tax payments from church members (a common arrangement in Europe) or teach religion in public schools. 

The controversial Act on Churches, passed in 2012, revoked that status among many small churches and denominations and changed the approval process.

Previously the outcome of a judicial review, approval for the highest status that allows teaching in public schools, is granted now by a two-thirds majority vote in parliament. Many see the law as a move by Mr. Orban to exert more control over Hungarian churches.

The prime minister “considers churches as allies, his friends, and the historic churches didn’t reject the friendship.”

Mr. Zachar noted that the Christian self-identification of the Orban government has been founded principally on two issues—keeping non-Europeans and presumably non-Christian asylum seekers out of Hungary, and taking a stand against gay marriage and transgender issues. 

Fidesz, known for its well-oiled propaganda machine, intensely leverages the culture war for political purposes that can have negative secondary effects on Hungary.

The politicization of faith has made charitable debate nearly impossible, Mr. Zachar said. “The existing political trenches deepened and walls between different social groups rose even more,” he said. “Reconciliation has become even more difficult, the possibility of understanding is very far away.”

“L.G.B.T.Q. issues have been present in Hungarian society since the [end of communism] but never as issues of such importance that they have dominated the entire social public sphere,” Mr. Zachar said. Now “it has become one of the most important debates and one of the most divisive issues.”

Mr. Zachar said that in exploiting such culture-war issues, Mr. Orban has flooded Hungarians with “excessive propaganda on illegal migration and L.G.B.T.Q. issues.”

Mr. Orban’s government passed a controversial law in 2022 that bans public showings of L.G.B.T.Q. content to minors. As a result of such campaigns, according to Mr. Zachar, “the general public unfortunately confuses the commission of real crimes with the L.G.B.T.Q. community.”

According to Mr. Rosta, there is no direct evidence linking Mr. Orban’s politicization of faith and values to diminished church affiliation, nor has the Hungarian Catholic Church been shaken by the kinds of scandals that has demolished church identity in other European states like Ireland.

But social surveys conducted over the last decade suggest a possible source of disquiet, he said, tracking a growing sense among Eastern Europeans that churches are too involved in politics. 

A recent study from the International Social Survey Program found that Hungarians increasingly believe that churches have too much power, a position steadily on the rise in Hungary since 2008.

“The proximity of religion and politics” over the last decade and more, Mr. Rosta said, may explain why far fewer Hungarians are now willing to describe themselves as members of a contemporary church.

Marathon pastor accused of sexually battering 15-year-old girl at church

Deputies arrested a South Florida pastor Monday morning after they accused him of sexually battering an intoxicated 15-year-old girl at his church.

Monte Lavelle Chitty, 62, of Marathon, is facing charges of sexual battery of a minor, lewd and lascivious conduct and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

He is the pastor of First Baptist Marathon, located at 200 62nd St., where he was arrested just before 6:15 Monday morning, according to jail records.

In a news release, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Becky Herrin said deputies were informed of what happened after an anonymous caller reported overhearing a girl telling an adult that she had been raped. 

Herrin said the girl and her grandmother had boarded a dinghy and headed out to the harbor.

Meanwhile, as deputies were searching for her, authorities received a second call. It was from Chitty, Herrin said.

Chitty, Herrin said, told dispatchers “he believed he was about to be accused of something and he wanted to get ahead of it,” saying that “a young girl at his church had been drinking and had passed out on a couch in the library of the church. 

He said he helped her to lie down on the couch but did not touch her after that.”

Authorities said the girl was found on board a boat where she lives and told deputies that “Chitty gave her alcohol that she thinks might have been ‘spiked’ with something else. 

She said she immediately began to feel weak and lost consciousness.”

When she woke up, she found Chitty molesting her, Herrin said the girl told deputies.

“Further investigation by detectives revealed text messages between the victim and Chitty,” Herrin said. “In those messages, which were found on both his and her phones, Chitty made reference to having sexual relations with the girl while she was impaired.”

Herrin said Chitty “was a registered volunteer with the Sheriff’s Office who offered his services as a pastor” beginning last April, but, to date, “he has not performed any services for the office.”

Chitty was being held without bond in MCSO’s Key West jail facility as of Monday morning.

Church right to promote biodiversity, says Bishop of Norwich

A Church of England decision to promote biodiversity on its land sends a "very important message", a bishop has said.

The Bishop of Norwich, the Right Reverend Graham Usher, said the Church had a "prophetic voice to the whole world".

Bishop Usher said the Church could not expect others to enhance biodiversity if it did not do the same.

He was speaking to the BBC after the Church's General Synod backed measures to promote biodiversity on Church land.

Bishop Usher told BBC Radio Norfolk: "If we are not getting our house in order why we expect anyone else to?

"So, to look at how we reduce our carbon emissions, to look at how we enhance biodiversity on our land, sends a very powerful message."

He said the Synod's decision sent a particularly important message to the Anglicans in the "poorest parts" of the world who were on the "front line of climate change".

Bishop Usher, the Church of England's lead Bishop for the Environment, also told a recent General Synod debate that there was a "need for immediate action" to promote biodiversity.

The Church's land and nature motion aims to give biodiversity "equal consideration with net zero carbon" as an urgent response to the "ecological crisis".

Dioceses will be encouraged to develop their own land "action plan".

"We are all too aware that this single island planet home of ours faces the twin interrelated crises of climate change and biodiversity loss," he told the Synod.

"We are one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world - 2% of species are already extinct - 41% of species have declined since 1970, 26% of our mammals are at risk of extinction and 97% of UK's wildflower meadows have been lost since the 1930s.

He added: "We need to act now to help the diversity of life on this single island planet home we share."

Dundalk court: Church pastor found guilty of fraud

A church pastor who obtained €29,000 in social welfare payments which he was not entitled to, and was caught after a relative attempted to sign-on in his name when he was out of the country, has been given a suspended sentence at Dundalk Circuit Court.

Christian Bona (53) with an address at Rockfield Park, Stoney Lane, Ardee had pleaded guilty to 10 sample counts but was originally charged with 56 counts - all for theft of the job seekers allowance, apart from a back to school allowance claim.

The court had previously heard how an official in Ardee knew the person who attempted to sign-on as Christian Bona (Bone-a), was not the genuine claimant, and he was asked to return with identification and the defendant arrived with I.D. the next day and maintained he had been out of the country for a family emergency.

When interviewed he told officers his father in law had had a stroke and he had to go back to Romania.

The father of five, who is a naturalised Irish citizen, apologised saying "I didn't think it was a big problem".

The defendant took 30 flights within Europe between March 2015 and July 2016 and while at one point he had been eligible for the social welfare payments, he was ineligible for the period in question as he was absent from the State.

Although his sentencing had been adjourned to allow him to make a significant payment, the court heard that €19,893 remains outstanding.

The Defence barrister said his client had increased his monthly repayments to €450 in November and intends to continue doing so until the amount is repaid in full.

Judge Dara Hayes said as a pastor of a church in Drogheda, one might observe that this was particularly unchristian behaviour, and it was a fraud from the public purse.

However, he noted the defendant had no previous convictions.

The judge imposed a sentence of two years and three months, which he suspended for five years, on him entering a bond to be of good behaviour, so the monthly payments can continue.

Judge Hayes also warned that if one repayment is missed, he expects the case to be re-entered by the State.

Church Militant to shut down following $500,000 defamation lawsuit brought by priest

Church Militant, the controversial Catholic media outlet that has for years maintained a reputation for combative and antagonistic coverage of Catholic figures and issues, will cease operations next month following a $500,000 defamation judgment against it.

Boston-based law firm Todd & Weld said in a press release this week that Church Militant had “agreed to the entry of a judgment against it in the amount of $500,000” in a defamation lawsuit brought by Father Georges de Laire, the judicial vicar of the Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire.

The media outlet had run an article in 2019 titled “NH Vicar Changes Dogma Into Heresy,” one in which the author, canonist Marc Balestrieri, claimed to “have talked to a number of anonymous sources who allegedly made negative comments about Father de Laire both personally and professionally,” the law firm said.

De Laire brought suit against both Balestriei and Church Militant over the article. In the course of the lawsuit, both the writer and the outlet were “unable to identify a single source who said anything negative about Father de Laire,” Todd & Weld said.

The law firm said the article had been written in “an attempt to discredit Father de Laire” and the Diocese of Manchester.

Todd & Weld said in the press release that St. Michael’s Media, the parent company of Church Militant, “will cease all operations of Church Militant by the end of April 2024.”

Church Militant did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday regarding its reasons for shutting down. Asked for insight into the company’s decision, Howard Cooper - a founding partner of Todd & Weld - declined to speculate.

“Questions about Church Militant’s thinking will need to be answered by them,” he told CNA.

Late last year, Church Militant founder Michael Voris resigned over a “morality” violation, with Voris at the time alluding to “horrible ugly things” he had done, though he did not go into specifics at the time.

“I need to conquer these demons,” he said of his decision to resign. “The underlying cause of it has been too ugly for me to look at.”

The Washington Post reported last week that staffers had “complained that Voris had sent shirtless photos of himself to Church Militant staff and associates” prior to his resignation.

Voris founded St. Michael’s Media in 2006. The company launched Church Militant - originally titled Real Catholic TV - in 2008.

Church fund 'not enough' to right slavery wrongs

The £100m earmarked by the Church of England for a new investment fund to help repair damage caused by its historic links to slavery is "not enough", a report says.

It comes after an investigation last year found the Church had invested large amounts of money into a company that transported tens of thousands of slaves.

The Church welcomed the report by the Church Commissioners charity and accepted its recommendations - but would not commit to raising the fund to the report's £1bn target.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said the report was "the beginning of a multi-generational response" to the "appalling evil" of slavery.

Mr Welby previously called the report's interim findings a "source of shame".

The report also reiterated calls for the Church to fully acknowledge its involvement in the slave trade, after the archbishop said he was "deeply sorry for the links" in 2022.

Money from the new fund should be invested in black-led businesses focusing on education, economic empowerment and better health outcomes, the report added.

The oversight group behind the report has been looking into the history of the Church's investment fund, which in the 18th Century was known as Queen Anne's Bounty.

At that time, it had investments worth £406,942 (potentially equivalent to about £724m in today's money) in the South Sea Company.

The company transported 34,000 slaves in crowded, unsafe and inhumane conditions over a 30-year period.

The Church Commissioners' report, published on Monday, recommended that the Church should:

• Recognise the £100m initially earmarked for the new investment fund is "not enough", and increase it to at least £1bn

• Speed up the timeline for the delivery of the fund

• Acknowledge and apologise for its historic denial that black Africans are created in the image of God, and for its "deliberate actions to destroy diverse African religious belief systems"

The report said a £100m investment was "very small compared to the scale of racial disadvantage originating in African chattel enslavement".

Kehinde Andrews, professor of black studies at Birmingham City University, said it was "impossible to quantify" the lasting impact of slavery or just how much the Church had benefited from it.

He added: "Before science, it was the Church's theology which justified the whole endeavour - and how do you put a price on that?"

The group says the investment programme should be ultimately owned and run by black communities, and should start later this year.

While there will be grants for some non-profit investments, there will not be cash compensation for individuals or grants to government bodies, it added.

Bishop Rosemarie Mallett, the group's chair, said she hoped the report would be "a catalyst to encourage other institutions to investigate their past and make a better future for impacted communities".

She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the impacts of slavery that are still felt in communities today are that "we brought in a system of racism, where people were judged on the basis of their colour".

She added: "We can't change the past, but we can work for a better present and we can build a legacy for the future."

The Church Commissioners manages the Church's investment portfolio.

A spokesperson said the Church would not raise its fund to £1bn, but that the £100m was seen as a "seed investment", which they hope will "grow over time".

Gareth Mostyn, the group's chief executive, added: “By addressing the past transparently the Church will be more relevant to more people."

The group said the Church Commissioners had "embraced a target of £1bn for a broader healing, repair and justice initiative with the fund at its centre".

Mr Mostyn said he hoped the establishment of the fund would encourage others to "co-invest and join us on this journey", and that as an investment fund it would hopefully "grow and create a lasting legacy".