Bishop Tony Robinson, Chairman of The Society's Council of Bishops, has responded to the announcement of the appointment of the Bishop of Blackburn: "I am delighted that the Church of England has stood by its Five Guiding Principles in appointing the next Bishop of Blackburn. Bishop Philip, as a suffragan bishop in that diocese, has amply demonstrated that he can minister effectively to people and parishes of all traditions and he will make an excellent diocesan bishop. Moreover, his flair for mission and for communication is a great asset for the Church as a whole. We wish Bishop Philip well and pray for him as he prepares to take up this important role."

Bishop Tony Robinson, Chairman of The Society's Council of Bishops, has responded to news of the death of His Holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI: "Pope Benedict stood for the highest standards in liturgy and theological scholarship and we mourn his death. He instinctively grasped the depths and strengths of worship and practice in the Anglican Catholic tradition in the English speaking world and responded by establishing three Ordinariates to witness to that tradition within the Western Church. May His Holiness rest in peace."

The Society's Council of Bishops records its deep sadness at the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second. Her Majesty steadfastly witnessed to the Christian Faith for just over seventy years as monarch and administered the responsibilities as our nation's head of state dutifully and without complaint in that time. We are all poorer for Her Majesty's death and we offer our heartfelt prayers for the repose of Her Majesty's soul and for all those who mourn across this nation, the nations of the Commonwealth and indeed all the nations of the world. We ask that God will make his presence known to the Royal Family at this time of grieving.

Now that the proposed revival of the See of Oswestry has received the approval of both the Dioceses Commission and the Lichfield Diocesan Synod, The Society's Council of Bishops would like to record its gratitude to the Bishop of Lichfield, the Bishop to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and their staff for their hard work to get us to this point. The Society expects the new arrangements to operate in a broadly similar fashion to how the existing Provincial Episcopal Visitor (PEV) arrangements have operated up to now in Ebbsfleet and elsewhere with the additional benefit of local support at a diocesan level, as is the case with the See of Fulham under the London Plan. The next challenge is to make sure that the Society parishes in the South-West of England, which will be a three to four hour journey from the new Bishop of Oswestry's permanent base in the Diocese of Lichfield, receive the level of support they need and options are current being explored to ensure that happens. We continue to pray for Society parishes in what is now the See of Oswestry.

The Society's Council of Bishops welcomes the proposals being set out by the Archbishop of Canterbury for what is currently the See of Ebbsfleet and what would become the See of Oswestry. They would result in additional support being provided at a diocesan level to the Provincial Episcopal Visitor (PEV) for the western half of the Province of Canterbury. Such an arrangement would inevitably bring with it benefits for Society parishes in that area.

We feel it is important that, as part of this set of proposals, a senior priest of our integrity be based in the south-west of England and be tasked with supporting the work of the newly appointed bishop. This would support the Provincial Episcopal Visitor with an ongoing presence in that region and would facilitate closer working with the south-western dioceses.

On the See of Beverley vacancy, we are pleased to hear that good progress is being made towards an appointment and that, all being well, the successful candidate will be consecrated to the episcopate in the autumn of 2022.

We are mindful, particularly with two of the three PEV roles currently vacant, of the importance of us exhorting the faithful to attend Mass in person in Society parishes on a Sunday wherever that is feasible. The easing of the pandemic has led our brother Roman Catholic bishops in England and Wales to reintroduce the obligation to attend Mass in person on Sundays from the Solemnity of Pentecost, which is on 5 June this year.

We commend their words to you: "The Eucharist gives the Church her identity. It enables us to worship Almighty God, to support each other on our journey of faith, and to be a visible sign of faith in the world. This hallmark is supported and strengthened by the precept that our fundamental Christian duty is to worship God by participating in the celebration of Mass. Attending Mass on Sundays and Holy Days is the greatest of all privileges."