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Bruce Kent

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For the New Zealand cyclist, see Bruce Kent (cyclist).

Bruce Kent
Kent in 2016
Born(1929-06-22)22 June 1929
Blackheath, southeast London
Died8 June 2022(2022-06-08) (aged 92)
Known forCampaign for Nuclear Disarmament: Secretary General (1980-1985); Chairman (1977–1979 and 1987-1990)

Bruce Kent (22 June 1929 – 8 June 2022) was British Roman Catholic priest who became a political activist in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and held various leadership positions in the organisation.

Early life

Born on 22 June 1929 in Blackheath, southeast London,[1][2] Kent was the son of Molly (Marion) and Kenneth Kent.[3] He was educated in Canada before attending Stonyhurst College. He served as an officer in the Royal Tank Regiment from 1947 to 1949 and afterwards read Jurisprudence at Brasenose College, Oxford, from 1949 to 1952. In 1952 he began a six-year course studying for the priesthood at St Edmund's seminary in Ware, Hertfordshire.[1]

Priesthood

In 1958 Kent was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest and was a chaplain to the University of London from 1966 to 1974. He was chairman of the charity War on Want from 1974 to 1976.[4][5]

In 1987 Kent retired from the active ministry, rather than comply with an instruction from Cardinal Basil Hume to desist from involvement in the 1987 UK general election in accordance with the canon law of the Catholic Church.[2][6]

In 1992, Kent was a candidate for the Labour Party in the constituency of Oxford West and Abingdon, where he came third. Had he been elected, he would at the time have been prevented, as an ordained priest, from taking his seat in the House of Commons.[7] Sitting Member of Parliament and former Conservative minister John Patten, also a Catholic, retained his seat.[8]

During his time as a priest Kent attained the status of a monsignor.[9]

He was a vice-president of Pax Christi.[10]

Activism

In 1960, Kent joined the Christian Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament,[11] a specialist section of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND).[12] He was CND's general secretary from 1980 to 1985 and its chair from 1987 to 1990 and later held the honorary title of vice-president.[13]

From 1985 to 1992, Kent succeeded Seán MacBride as president of the International Peace Bureau.[14] In a ceremony held on 19 October 2019, Kent was honoured with its MacBride Peace Prize.[15]

Kent was a patron of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.[16]

In April 2021, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby awarded The Lambeth Cross for Ecumenism jointly to Kent and to his wife Valerie Flessati "for exceptional, tireless and lifelong dedication to the Christian ecumenical search for peace, both individually and together."[17]

Personal life and death

Kent married Valerie Flessati on 4 July 1988 and lived in Harringay, North London.[1]

Kent died on 8 June 2022, two weeks before his 93rd birthday.[18][19]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Bruce Kent obituary". The Times. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  2. ^ a b Stanford, Peter (9 June 2022). "Bruce Kent obituary". The Guardian.
  3. ^ Kent, Bruce (1992). Undiscovered ends. ISBN 9780002159968. Archived from the original on 11 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Bruce Kent". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 30 May 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  5. ^ Obituaries, Telegraph (9 June 2022). "Bruce Kent, Catholic priest and energetic leader of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament – obituary". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  6. ^ ARC Patrons Biographies Arms Reduction Coalition
  7. ^ "Hansard – 16 June 1999, col 394". Archived from the original on 28 January 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  8. ^ English Counties United Kingdom Election Results 1983–97
  9. ^ Sale, Jonathan (28 January 1999). "Passed/Failed: Bruce Kent". The Independent. web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  10. ^ Thornton, Ed (11 June 2022). "Tributes paid to Bruce Kent, peace-campaigner". Church Times. Archived from the original on 10 June 2022. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  11. ^ Kent, Bruce. "BRUCE KENT – Biographical information". Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Christian CND". Archived from the original on 9 July 2011. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  13. ^ Veteran anti-nuclear campaigner gives city peace talk Archived 11 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine The Yorkshire Post, 1 July 2009
  14. ^ Kent, Bruce. "BRUCE KENT – PEACE WORK FOR OVER SIX DECADES". Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
  15. ^ Teague, Ellen (15 October 2019). "Bruce Kent honoured with peace award". The Tablet. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  16. ^ "Our Patrons: Bruce Kent". Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  17. ^ Williams, Hattie (11 June 2022). "Lambeth Awards recognise service to Church and community". Church Times. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
  18. ^ Badshah, Nadeem (9 June 2022). "Bruce Kent: tributes paid as peace campaigner dies aged 92". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  19. ^ "Peace campaigner Bruce Kent has died". The Tablet. 9 June 2022. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
Preceded by Chair of CND
1977–1979 		Succeeded by
Preceded by General Secretary of CND
1979–1985 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of CND
1987–1990 		Succeeded by
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