19 Salisbury Road

Liverpool

Merseyside

L19 0PH

Archbishop’s House Liverpool

The Most Reverend John Sherrington Archbishop of Liverpool 

Your Grace,

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We, the undersigned young Catholics of the Archdiocese of Liverpool, particularly those associated with the University Chaplaincy at St Philip Neri, respectfully write this formal petition seeking your urgent intervention. We have been heartened by your visits to the student community and now turn to you as our shepherd with grave concerns about the pastoral leadership of Fr. Neil Ritchie.

We request a thorough, independent investigation into Fr. Neil Ritchie’s conduct, followed by a full report to the faithful. This investigation must specifically examine the pattern of abusive, manipulative, and discriminatory behaviour towards young white males, behaviour which has continued for years without adequate intervention.

Key Areas of Concern

1)  Division, Manipulation, and Abuse of Authority

Fr. Ritchie has allowed a once-fraternal student community to become toxic, marked by suspicion, rivalry, and broken relationships. He has weaponised personal loyalties and insecurities to maintain control. What was once a joyful community bound by faith in Christ has decayed into power struggles, with rigid governance through the Memorandum of Understanding bureaucratising relationships and preventing authentic friendships and family-like bonds. This has included manipulating residents through false claims regarding visitor permissions, including family stays, thereby fostering needless division; sowing deceit and discord among friends; and coercing students into exploiting and reputationally destroying other visitors within the chaplaincy.

2)   Aggressive Anti-Racist Culture and Racial Division

Fr. Ritchie has enforced an extremely aggressive culture of fear through a rigid anti-racist ideology. This has created an unfair and hostile environment, has led to segregation within the community, and has particularly excluded and disadvantaged young white men as a direct consequence. Rather than fostering unity in Christ, this approach has isolated, undermined, and marginalised young white males in housing, formation, activities, and access to the sacraments, while prioritising other groups.

3)   Denial of Sacraments and Serious Referrals 

Young men have been denied sacraments, including Confirmation, on questionable grounds, while individuals whose public views contradict Church teaching (such as on abortion and sexuality) have been admitted. Meanwhile, some students have been reported to the PREVENT counter-terrorism programme over private, light-hearted humour or minor disagreements without proper investigation, causing reputational harm and anxiety.

4)   Undermining Young White Men and Driving Them from the Church

Fr. Ritchie’s approach has actively undermined, humiliated, and scandalised many young white males. By failing to affirm their legitimate identity as Catholic men, and instead enforcing policies and attitudes that treat them with suspicion or hostility, he has pushed them away from the Church — often in a painful and destructive manner.

By denying white identity  (specifically English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish), many young white men are instead turning to other religions, such as the Russian Orthodox Church, and completely disavowing the Catholic Church. This has driven many into the arms of more orthodox groups or uncharitable sects that are willing to affirm their identity and masculinity.

We are gravely concerned that the current pastoral approach of the Archdiocese, as experienced through Fr. Ritchie, effectively denies the identity of white men and treats their spiritual needs with neglect or hostility. This is causing lasting damage to the faith of an entire generation of young Catholic men.

5)   Blocking Evangelisation and Authentic Community Life 

Fr. Ritchie has resisted reasonable initiatives to open the chapel for public prayer despite its high foot-traffic location, blocked outreach to elderly parishioners and the local community (such as safe accompaniment schemes to Mass), and imposed rigid bureaucratic control instead. This has limited the chaplaincy’s mission and evangelising potential. This led to the death of a Mrs Mary Grazulis, 92, whereby she was on her way to mass just before the 6pm Sunday Mass in December 2023 at St Philip Neri, and was hit by a car and died trying to cross the road due to reckless driving.

6)   Questions for Your Grace’s Pastoral Clarity

In light of these serious issues, we humbly ask you to address the following questions directly so that we may understand the Archdiocese’s position:

• Do you affirm white identity? Is it OK to be white (specifically English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish)? 
• Do you ensure that young white Catholic men are pastorally supported and cared for with the same charity and attention given to other groups?
• Has the Archdiocese, or Fr. Neil Ritchie acting on its behalf, reported young men to anti-terrorist organisations (such as PREVENT) for engaging in light-hearted, absurd, and normal humour in private conversations?

Petitions

Therefore humbly but urgently petition Your Grace to:

• Immediately commission a thorough, independent investigation into Fr. Neil Ritchie’s pastoral conduct at St Philip Neri University Chaplaincy.
• Specifically examine the allegations of manipulation, the aggressive culture of fear, racial division and segregation, and the targeted exclusion and mistreatment of young white males.
• Produce and publish a transparent report on the findings.
• Take appropriate disciplinary measures to protect the souls under his care and restore trust in the chaplaincy.

We are prepared to meet with you or appointed investigators and provide further testimony. Many of us remain deeply committed to the Catholic faith and desire a healthy, thriving chaplaincy that welcomes and supports all young Catholics, including young white men. This letter has not been easy to write nor has any of the signatures been easy to add; each signature has been added with great personal and reputational risk. For this reason, we humbly ask for your Grace’s understanding, wisdom and –if necessary—intervention.

 

We implore you to act decisively as our shepherd.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

 

Respectfully yours in Christ,

The Young Catholics of Liverpool