Diocese of Westminster Annual Repor t & Accounts 2020
Report of the Directors of the Corporate Trustee – Year to 31 December 2020
Introduction The Directors of the Corporate Trustee (i.e. the Trustees) present their statutory report together with the consolidated accounts of Westminster Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust (the Charity) for the year ended 31 December 2020. The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies on pages 51 to 55 of the attached accounts and comply with the Charity’s Trust Deed, with applicable laws and applicable United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) and with the requirements of Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
Purpose and Activities The Purpose of the Charity The Charity’s Trust Deed states that the purpose of the Westminster Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust is ‘advancing the Roman Catholic religion in the diocese by such means as the Archbishop may think fit and proper’. The diocese comprises 212 parishes located in the boroughs of London lying north of the Thames and west of the Lea River, in the Borough of Spelthorne in Surrey, and in the County of Hertfordshire. The Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ to bring his light into the world, and all its activities are as small candles lit from his pascal flame. Everyone who follows the Catholic faith is called to become more like Christ, shining as he did with loving obedience to God the Father and loving care for all persons. It is the teachings and actions of Jesus that shape Catholic practice, and therefore the activities of the Charity. These include worship of God and participation in the sacraments, all of which Catholics believe to be effective signs instituted by Christ himself; the education of children and all the faithful; and also the work of the Church to build, support, and sustain the wider community and care for all those in need. The Gospel of Matthew (25:34-41) memorably recounts how Christ taught that anyone who feeds the hungry, gives drink to the thirsty, clothes the naked, welcomes the stranger, or visits the prisoner not only ministers to those in need, but also serves God. The Charity therefore fulfils its purpose by offering religious and pastoral services, educational programmes, and charitable support and assistance to all who live within its borders: approximately 430,000 self-identifying
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Catholics and roughly 4.2 million other residents. The main vehicles for these ministries are parishes and chaplaincies, schools, and outreach agencies coordinated by Caritas Westminster. When setting the Charity’s aims and planning its work for the year, the Trustees give careful consideration to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit. COVID-19: The Challenges of 2020 2020 will always be remembered as a year of darkness. There is no way of presenting the events or finances of the year in a way that it is not, at every turn, a story about COVID-19. There is no escaping the toll the pandemic has taken on society, first and foremost in terms of human life, but also in how it has affected the mental health, security and prospects of so many through bereavement, job loss, income reduction, social isolation, or interrupted education. From the earliest days of the year, the darkness gathered as news of a dangerous coronavirus emerged. The first case of COVID-19 in the UK was confirmed in January. The UK Government was making preparations and advising against unnecessary travel throughout February, and in March, as cases increased, the first stay-at-home order was issued, schools closed, and adults were required to work from home if at all able to do so. From March until June all churches in the UK were closed for communal worship, meaning that Catholics could not gather in person for Mass. When communal worship was once again permitted, those who returned to the churches to worship found even the liturgy itself had undergone pandemic-related changes: no singing by the congregation is permitted; the sign of peace, which is traditionally exchanged in the form of a handshake or even an embrace following the recitation of the Lord’s Prayer, has been suspended; the Eucharist is received in silence, and only the sacred host is distributed -- the shared chalice has been withdrawn. How long the Mass itself will be shaped by the need to minimise viral transmission is unknown. School communities immediately had to set up remote learning for the majority of students. The challenges presented by rolling out online programmes to students, a significant number of whom have barriers to accessing these, whilst at the same time maintaining in-school provision for the children of key workers and continuing the crucial social and pastoral support schools offer to so many families, were profound. When schools eventually reopened to all students in September, it was with defined bubbles of students, modified timetables, enhanced cleaning routines, and a deep awareness of time already lost to the pandemic. Truly, the pandemic has affected every aspect of human activity: the way we live and learn, work and worship.
