A Retired Rector's Reflections

On July 2nd 1644 Fr John Duckett, a young Roman Catholic priest, was travelling with two companions towards Wolsingham in Weardale to conduct a baptism. As they approached the dale they were apprehended by parliamentary soldiers, searched and arrested. They were taken to Sunderland where Fr Duckett was charged with the offence of being a Catholic priest in England. He was found guilty and taken to London and on September 7th 1644 was hanged at Tyburn. He was 31 years old.

Near the place where the men were arrested, at Redgate Hill, Wolsingham, a locally made celtic style cross marked with an inscription commemorating the event stands, partially concealed by vegetation. It is a somber reminder of the terrible years of the sixteenth and seventeenth century when many Catholic priests were executed simply for being priests in England. It is also a reminder of the intolerance human beings are capable of towards people of different religious faith and outlook.

I recently visited the memorial as a ‘micro pilgrimage.’ I had decided to visit on the day when the Archbishop of Canterbury was visiting Pope Leo in Rome. The Archbishop had asked for prayers for unity and understanding and it seemed to me appropriate to say a prayer at the place where a young priest had stood up for his faith, and had ended up being executed for his priesthood. My hope is that Blessed John Duckett’s courage and integrity will inspire Christians today to stand for what they believe in the face of tyrannical power. I prayed that there may be an end in our world to persecution for religious belief, and that Christian people work together for the good of their fellow human beings and may their church differences be secondary to working together for peace and tolerance in our troubled world.

It was encouraging to see the Archbishop and Pope meeting together. For me even more encouraging would be to see more Anglican and Roman Catholic clergy and laity meeting together and working together on building up good in our world and making a stand for peace, and together working to help the underprivileged, the refugee, needy and the sick.