Fr Maciej Malyga
We are very pleased to welcome to the Cathedral Fr Maciej Malyga who is staying with us for a month as he attends an English Language course here in the city. Fr Malyga comes from the Wroclaw Diocese in South West Poland. He was ordained in 2004 and he is currently studying for a PhD in Freiburg, Germany.

Blessing of the Riddell Vault
A Requiem Mass and the Blessing of the Riddell Vault will take place at the Cathedral on Friday July 11th at 7.00pm. The principal celebrant will be The Very Reverend Canon Seamus Cunningham, Diocesan Administrator. His Most Eminent Highness Fra' Matthew Festing, Grand Master of the Order of Malta, and other members of the Riddell Family will also be present. A private reception will follow in the Cloister and there are some tickets for this reception available for members of the Riddell Guild on a first come, first served basis. If you would like a ticket, please contact the Cathedral Office as soon as possible.

Rachel's Vineyard Retreat
A Retreat organised under the auspices of the Diocese of Leeds for women and men who have been hurt by abortion, will take place 11th – 13th July in the Catholic Retreat Centre Ilkley, Yorkshire. The retreat is totally confidential and are those involved may take a companion with them. Further information from Marene or Lisa Tel. 07505 904 656.

Friends Spanish Evening
The Friends of the Cathedral have arranged a Spanish Evening on Friday 25th July at 7.30pm in the Cloister Café. The evening will include tapas, wine, music and entertainment. Tickets are priced at £12 each and will be on sale from the Cloister Café from this week. Due to limited space, tickets will be available on a first come first served basis.

Cloister Café Art Exhibition
The latest Art Exhibition in The Cloister, entitled Anywhere, Somewhere, Nowhere presents a variety of paintings by artist Stella Bell. Stella loves to combine colour and nature and draws her inspiration from areas including the North East Coast, the Lake District and more recently Canada. If you are interested in purchasing one of her paintings please speak to a member of staff in the Pauline Books and Media Centre.

Water Charges for Churches
As you may already know, Northumbrian Water is starting to treat churches as businesses rather than charities and charging churches for the amount of area (i.e roofs and car parks) that will collect rainwater and discharge it into the sewer network. This could raise most churches’ water bills by hundreds if not thousands of pounds – especially any with extensive roofs and lots of gutters (such as the Cathedral!).

The Bishops of Newcastle, Durham and Hexham and Newcastle have already written to Northumbrian Water and OFWAT and to local MPs about this issue but unfortunately with no effect - Northumbrian Water say that they are acting within the rules and making an exception would disadvantage their other customers.

There is now an online petition asking the Prime Minister to instruct water companies to change their policy. If you wish to support this petition, please register at the following address: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ChurchWaterBills/. The petition needs at least 15,000 signatures to be noticed and responses are needed as soon as possible and not later than 7th July.

Volunteers required
New volunteers are urgently needed to help with some of the regular ministries and duties in the Cathedral. Readers and Welcomers are particularly needed for the Sunday 6.30pm Mass and Altar Servers for all Masses. Please note that in order to comply with national and diocesan requirements for child and vulnerable adult protection, all voluntary posts are subject to Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Clearance. If you are interested in becoming a Cathedral Volunteer please contact the Cathedral Office.

RCIA Journey in Faith
If you would like to know more about the Catholic Church, a new RCIA journey in Faith course will start in Autumn 2008. If you are interested in any aspect of the course please take an information sheet from the back of church or alternatively contact the Cathedral Office.

Going into Hospital?
The Newcastle Hospitals Trust has withdrawn its patients' lists which have previously been available to Hospital Chaplains. Consequently, if you or any of your family are going into hospital and you wish the Catholic Chaplain to know this, please ensure that you inform the ward staff on admission. It might also be helpful to advise your parish priest of any hospital stay.