Scottish Catholic Observer

As Scotland celebrated the official opening of its first Catholic institute for higher education last week (see tomorrow’s SCO,) its counterpart in England faced major changes that raised concerns over its future.

Shortly after Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Antonio Mennini inaugurated and blessed the St Ninian Institute in Dundee last week, news broke that the acting director of Maryvale Institute (above), based in Birmingham, was stepping down and other staff were following suit.

Dr Petroc Willey wrote to students explaining that he will be leaving his job and the college, after a 20-year association, for personal reasons adding that that ‘a number of other staff here have also made a similar decision.’

Trustees of the institute then released a statement saying they ‘respect Dr Willey’s decision to resign,’ ‘wish him well for the future’ and also thank him ‘for his service of the Church.’

Birmingham priest Fr Edward Clare, director of Maryvale’s department for parish and family catechesis, took over the role of acting director of the institute. Fr Clare wrote to students at the college to reassure them that that their ‘studies will not be jeopardised by (Dr Willey’s) departure.’

Maryvale provides distance learning opportunities in Catholic theology, evangelisation, catechesis, philosophy, ministry and religious education, from short, informal courses to BAs, MAs and research degrees. Concerns had been raised following the recent resignations as Maryvale requires a certain number of suitably qualified academic staff to retain its status as an Ecclesiastical institute and continue to offer degrees of the Holy See at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Maryvale, of which Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham is president, was made the Holy See’s first higher institute of religious sciences in the English-speaking world in 2011 on the Feast of the Annunciation. It was also was awarded a series of honours under Pope Benedict XVI for its catechesis work. During Pope Benedict XVI’s pontificate, Dr Willey was made  a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelisation. He was also presented to Pope Francis at the International Congress on Catechesis last month.