His Grace the Most Reverend Peter Smith hosted a reception at 
Archbishop’s house on Tuesday 10th February launching the Catholic Union Charitable Trust (CUCT), the charitable arm of the Catholic Union of Great Britain.
The purpose of the CUCT is to advance the Roman Catholic religion by means of a series of seminars, lectures and conferences. It will take over all the activities formerly operated by the Catholic Union, other than lobbying, the Parliamentary and Public Affairs committee and the medical ethics committee. Being a registered charity the CUCT can attract funds from other grant making trusts and obtain Gift Aid refunds from donations.
About eighty invited guests and members enjoyed a convivial evening 
with His Grace the Archbishop, Sir Edward Leigh, the President of the Catholic Union and Jamie Bogle chairman of the CUCT. Mr Robert Rigby chairman of the Catholic Union was also present as were a number of trustees of the CUCT and members of the Council of the catholic union.
Jamie Bogle welcomed all present and outlined the need for the CUCT and the type of work it will undertake in the future.
Sir Edward Leigh spoke about the difficulties of a Catholic member of the House of Commons in this secular age. He described the loss of the vote last week concerning the regulations for three parent IVF babies and how he and a number of like minded Catholic MPs struggle to present the Catholic Christian point of view to Parliament.
His Grace the Archbishop affirmed his support for the work of the Union which is so important to the Catholic community