CAFOD’s 50th Anniversary: Special Edition of The Tablet

ITV News at Ten anchorwoman and journalist Julie Etchingham is editing the 1st December issue of influential news and current affairs publication The Tablet, making her the first guest editor since its inception in 1840. Julie, a lifelong supporter of the aid and development agency CAFOD, took the helm of the weekly Catholic publication to mark the culmination of a yearlong celebration of the charity's 50th anniversary.

Julie has brought together some of the most well known and respected names in UK politics, journalism and entertainment to offer their support, views and comment on aid and development, the lessons learnt over the last 50 years and the many challenges that lie ahead still, especially around the issue of hunger – due to be the focus of a major joint campaign by all Britain's major aid agencies in the run up to the 2013 G8 summit. 

Among the long list of contributors are Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening, Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, Veteran ITV News Correspondent Penny Marshall, ITV News Africa Correspondent Rohit Kachroo, food writer and TV cook Delia Smith and stars of the weekend screen, X Factor host Dermot O’Leary and Homeland star David Harewood.

Speaking about her guest tenure Julie said:

“Whether it’s a donations box in your church – an envelope in your child’s school bag for Family Fast Day, or a Fairtrade sale after Mass, if you’re Catholic, it’s likely CAFOD has been a constant presence in your life, as it has in mine.  Their countless acts of charity in our name now span half a century.

“From their humble beginnings as a group of Catholic women huddled around a kitchen table, they have allowed us to be there for those suffering through terrible disasters and emergencies and have gone on to become a powerful and compassionate campaigning machine – on debt, on climate change, on poverty. All of this – on our behalf.

“So when CAFOD and The Tablet asked me to guest-edit this publication to mark the agency’s fiftieth birthday, it was an honour to say yes. It’s an opportunity to take stock of CAFOD’s remarkable achievements – and to look at the profound challenges which lie ahead for all those working in aid and development.”

Speaking of the collaboration Catherine Pepinster, Editor of The Tablet since 2004, added:

"The Tablet has reported regularly on the work of CAFOD, from what its many supporters are involved in, here in Britain, to its vital work overseas. So we were delighted to collaborate with CAFOD and Julie Etchingham in creating this special edition of The Tablet to marks its anniversary.

"But there’s another reason too. Both journalists and aid organisations have a similar role: to speak truth to power. That’s never been more important than today, in an increasingly complicated, financially pressured world, especially at a time when so many people face hunger across the globe."

The project marks the culmination of a number of special events in parishes, schools and communities across England and Wales, and amongst CAFOD’s partners overseas, to mark CAFOD’s fiftieth anniversary. Fittingly, the edition therefore includes an article from one of CAFOD’s partners in South Sudan, Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala, whose diocese is celebrating its own centenary, and a ‘Parish Practice’ article by stalwart CAFOD fundraiser, campaigner and ‘barefoot runner’ John McBride.

CAFOD Director Chris Bain spoke of his delight at this special edition of The Tablet as the perfect way to end a year of celebration and reflection:

“This has been a very special year for those supporters who have sustained and inspired our work for the past 50 years, from the Mass we celebrated together at Westminster Cathedral in January to the Campaigners Conference at the same venue last month. It has been a time to take stock, to give thanks, to look back on many achievements and to ask God’s blessing for our work in the years ahead.

“This collaboration with The Tablet – examining the many facets of our mission over the last 50 years and the challenges we face today – is a fitting climax to our anniversary year, and I am very grateful to The Tablet’s editor Catherine Pepinster, Julie Etchingham, and all the wonderful contributors to this special edition for making it possible.

“Throughout our history, we have valued The Tablet and its readers as critical friends to CAFOD, ready to support and challenge our work in equal measure, and long may that continue.

“We know that the achievements CAFOD looks back on this year, and those that lie ahead, are only possible because of the unstinting generosity of the Catholic community in England and Wales, and I hope that – together with The Tablet – we can continue to celebrate the members of that community living out their faith by supporting those in the greatest need.”

Notes to editors:

1.    For further information, quotes and images relating to Julie Etchingham and other contributors to the 1st December edition of The Tablet contact: Sophie Bradley sbradley@cafod.org.uk Tel: 0207 095 5454 or 07920 287 546

2.    CAFOD is the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development which works across Africa, Asia and Latin America, working to fight poverty and injustice. The agency works with all people regardless of race, gender, religion or nationality.

3.    The Tablet is an international Catholic weekly journal based in London that has been published continually since 1840. It reports on religion current affairs, politics, social issues, literature and the arts with a special emphasis on Roman Catholicism while remaining ecumenical.

4.    The editor of The Tablet is Catherine Pepinster, who was formerly executive editor of The Independent on Sunday. Appointed in 2004, she is the paper’s first female editor.