Bill to ban prayer vigils near abortion clinics lodged in Parliament

A Bill which threatens basic civil liberties has been lodged in the Scottish Parliament.

Gillian Mackay’s proposal to ban prayer and offers of help around abortion facilities will now be considered by the Parliament and has already drawn support from First Minister Humza Yousaf.

The proposals could see people criminalised for simply simply occupying a so-called “buffer zone” near an abortion clinic. Chillingly, it could establish zones in Scotland where prayer is illegal.

Fr Jeremy Milne, Archdiocesan Vicar Episcopal for Marriage and Families said the bill “poses a significant threat to civil liberties by curtailing the freedom of a person to pray in public.  The State will be designating public areas in which it is prohibited, indeed criminal, to pray.”

He added that the bill “denies the opportunity for women who reluctantly seek abortion due to coercion by persons or circumstance to receive last moment offers of help".

"Many women have testified to the value of this in their own lives.  Given that both the mental and emotional wellbeing of the mother and the life of an unborn human being are at stake, the denial of this opportunity is totally unacceptable.”

Peaceful and prayerful

Paul Atkin, Pro-Life Officer at the Archdiocese said: "For years, Police Scotland and NHS Boards have confirmed they have no records of any harassment and that vigils are peaceful and prayerful. In fact, the Police chose not to respond to the Bill’s consultation.

"If there was really a problem at Scottish abortion centres the Police and NHS Boards would be expected to have something to say, but they have presented no evidence.”

He added: “The Bill harms women from poorest parts of Scotland who suffer abortion rates twice as high as those in wealthy areas.

"Banning practical support and offers of help will, ironically, leave women feeling that abortion is their only 'choice.'  This is wrong.

"We call on Gillian Mackay to be pro-all-choices and give real and practical support to women in unexpected pregnancy situations rather than criminalising peaceful people who are providing much needed help and kindness.”

He added: "In reality, Gillian Mackay's Bill supports a campaign by multi-million pound abortion providers with concerning safety records.

"BPAS, which carried out over 90,000 abortions last year, was found to have supplied abortion drugs to a woman who aborted her baby at 32 - 34 weeks.  They have no mandate to speak about women's health or safety."

Atkin noted that Mackay had removed 3,367 pro-life responses from some of the consultation results.

He said “It is disappointing that Gillian Mackay wants to ignore the views of thousands of individuals who opposed her bill online.

“It is not surprising - the aim of this extreme measure appears to be to stop Christians peacefully taking part in public life.

“Gillian Mackay’s complaint that members of the public submitted their responses using the same website show that she is out of touch with modern digital communications methods used by many lobby organisations.”

To learn more about the Archdiocesan Pro-Life Office click here. Part of this article comes from the Catholic Parliamentary Office article here.

HOMILY: St Margaret's Pilgrimage in Dunfermline

Hundreds gathered in Dunfermline yesterday (Sunday 18 June) for the St Margaret's Pilgrimage.

The day started with an ecumenical service at Dunfermline Abbey before Holy Mass at St Margaret's Memorial Church in Dunfermline.

To see a photo gallery of the day, click here.

Homily of Archbishop Leo Cushley of St Andrews & Edinburgh
St Margaret’s Pilgrimage, 18 June 2023, Dunfermline

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

It is a very great joy to welcome you again to Dunfermline for our Pilgrimage in honour of our great queen, St Margaret.

I’m grateful to Fr Syriac and the people of St Margaret’s parish, including Colin and Amanda, the musicians and singers, the helpers and volunteers, and everyone in Dunfermline for their warm welcome to the town.

I’d like to thank the Reverend Mary Ann Rennie, Minister of Dunfermline Abbey, and her parishioners for their kind welcome this morning to the abbey, where we celebrated an ecumenical service in honour of St Margaret (above).

***

On the 16th of November last year, 2022, the official Feast as you know of St Margaret, many of us were at Dunfermline Abbey to remember the arrival 950 years ago of the first Benedictine monks at Dunfermline, who came to found a priory.

On that happy occasion, in the presence of HRH the Princess Royal, there was also the signing of a Declaration of Friendship, named in honour of St Margaret, and signed by Princess Anne, the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, and myself on behalf of the Catholic Church in Scotland.

The Declaration is an endeavour to recognize and build upon the great progress that has been achieved in the last sixty years, recognizing each other as friends and as brothers and sisters in Christ, in praying and working together for the good of our churches, and in working shoulder to shoulder for the common good of everyone who calls Scotland their home.

The document had originally been described as a declaration of friendship, but I’m happy to say that, in answer to the suggestion of Dr Grant Barclay, a minister of the Church of Scotland, the document is now called the Saint Margaret Declaration.

Nevertheless, the original intention – that it be a declaration of friendship – still stands.

This is partly because an important part of the document is an attempt to recognize together all that we hold in common.

Both Pope St John Paul II and the late Pope Benedict are on record as saying that we have more in common with the churches of the Reformation than that which divides us from them.

I heard these words said in London in 2010, and I have reflected on them ever since.

So, about three years ago, I approached the then Moderator, Lord Jim Wallace, and the senior leadership in the Church of Scotland of the time, and they were very willing to discuss what such a declaration of might look like.

I received the blessing of our own bishops to carry out this dialogue, and within about a year, the draft document was ready.

It was warmly welcomed by our bishops and it was also warmly welcomed at the General Assembly of Scotland in the summer of 2022.

One of the main foundations for it is a common will to preserve and promote and treasure our Christian heritage in this country, which goes back all the way to at least Saint Ninian in the far off fourth century, A.D. The declaration mentions St Ninian, St Columba of Iona, and St Margaret by name.

With our brothers and sisters in the Church of Scotland and the Episcopal Church, we have a shared admiration of who she was and what she did for our country, and that is not nothing.

Something of our common understanding of who she is, and that we share with her brothers and sisters of the Reformation churches, can be seen in our three readings today.

In the first reading from the Book of Proverbs, we see the picture of an ideal wife and mother.

Too often these days we find that kind of idea undermined, or knocked or belittled by people who think that being a wife, and being a mother, is something that is either far too difficult on the one hand, all the way through to being something outmoded or unnecessary in a modern and flexible society.

Margaret, however, is a strong and enduring example of someone who shows not only how well it can work, but how it can be the central nucleus in a full and fulfilling Christian life, and we can see in her biography, written by her Confessor just after she died, that she was flesh and blood too, a real wife and mother.

She was no plaster icon on a pillar; she was real, a flesh and blood saint.

In the second reading, we see the second great component of the character of Saint Margaret.

Through St Paul’s description of the higher gifts, we can see that how it all applies to Margaret, who also was “ambitious for the higher gifts”. She was deeply motivated by her love of Jesus Christ.

As Paul says, love is the best and highest element in our Christian discipleship.

Paul praises faith, hope, and love and compares them - but he declares boldly that the greatest of these great gifts is love; and Saint Margaret is a clear and vivid example of a consistent, hard-working, energetic love, through her personal attachment to people, especially the poor.

And the third component of her character that we see today comes from the Gospel of Matthew.

There our Lord says, if you listen to my words, and you act on them, you will be someone who built their house on rock.  Rain fell, floods came, the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, it was built on rock.

This is a parable that St Margaret took to heart.

There are many pictures of Saint Margaret.  Sometimes she is seen with a crucifix, because she called of one near the end of her life.

Sometimes she’s seen with a Book of the Gospels, because we know she carried one with her always, and it still exists to this day, and is kept in the Bodleian Library in Oxford.

But there is a third kind of image of her, including one in my own chapel in Edinburgh, where is Saint Margaret stands with a crown on her head and with a building cradled in her arms.

When we imagine her cradling a building in her arms, this is one image that has always made sense to me, that I add to the others.

To see her imagined carrying a building in her arms suggests Margaret as a builder; and not just a builder, but as a founder of churches. Now, Margaret didn’t found the Church in Scotland, its presence predates her arrival here by a good 600 years.

That being said, what she did do was to help “re-found” or re-imagine, or re-invigorate the Church here.  She renewed it. She refreshed it, and she did so with great energy.

She was also clearing a path, as it were, for some things that she didn’t even live to see, but that were important and a direct consequence of what she did in her lifetime.

Her sons, starting with King Saint David I of Scotland, were in an excellent position after her death to invite many European monastic communities that were blossoming everywhere in Western Europe to come also to Scotland, and much of their presence and their heritage can still be seen today, particularly in the border country in our own Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh.

Many foundations, priories and parishes and other foundations were the consequence of the work that Margaret did for the strengthening of the faith in our land.

Margaret worked with energy and love for her family, her country, and her church.  She had the humility and patience to prepare the way for others to complete the tasks begun by her.

And she did it with great heart, with great love.  As we venerate her memory and her relics here, we pray again today for our families, our nation, our leaders, and our church.

May St Margaret’s example and prayers strengthen us in God’s service today and always.

Thank you for joining us today, and God bless you!

GALLERY: St Margaret's Pilgrimage in Dunfermline

Hundreds gathered in Dunfermline yesterday (Sunday 18 June) for the St Margaret's Pilgrimage.

The day started with an ecumenical service at Dunfermline Abbey before Holy Mass at St Margaret's Memorial Church in Dunfermline. Read Archbishop Cushley's Homily here.

Gallery

A member of the Knights of St Columba venerates the relic of St Margaret.
Archbishop Cushley and Fr Francisco Liporace IVE nad Fr Simon Willis IVE, with some of the Pilgrims who walked to the Church from Lochgelly!
Archbishop Cushley with members of the Knights of St Columba.
Pilgrims chat with Archbishop Cushley after Mass.
Archbishop Cushley and members of the Order of Malta.
A religious sister visiting from Leeds with a local family.
Members of The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
Local primary and high school pupils with Archbishop Cushley after Mass.
Archbishop Cushley with a teacher and pupils from Holy Name Primary in Oakley.
Mass at St Margaret's Church.
Prayers at the Shrine of St Margaret at Dunfermline Abbey.
Fife Provost Jim Leishman MBE (foreground) attended the ecumenical service at Dunfermline Abbey.
Knights of the Order of Malta at the Ecumenical Service at Dunfermline Abbey.
Ecumenical Service at Dunfermline Abbey.
Ecumenical Service at Dunfermline Abbey.
Ecumenical Service at Dunfermline Abbey.
Prayers at the Shrine of St Margaret at Dunfermline Abbey.
Archbishop Cushley lays flowers at the Shrine of St Margaret at Dunfermline Abbey.
Fr Syriac Palakudiyil chats with a pilgrim after the Ecumenical Service at Dunfermline Abbey.
Fr Emmanuel Francis of St Margaret's in South Queensferry after the Ecumenical Service at Dunfermline Abbey.
Members of the Knights of St Columba with the relic of St Margaret at her shrine at Dunfermline Abbey.
Archbishop Cushley chats after the Ecumenical Service at Dunfermline Abbey.
Holy Mass at St Margaret's Church.
Holy Mass at St Margaret's Church.
Holy Mass at St Margaret's Church.
Fr Paul Lee reads the Gospel during Holy Mass at St Margaret's Church.
Holy Mass at St Margaret's Church and the Relic of St Margaret.
Holy Mass at St Margaret's Church.
From left: Fr Isaac Oshomah (Our Lady Immaculate & St Margaret in Duns); Fr Joshua Kauras (The Most Holy Trinity - Dunfermline/ Inverkeithing/Rosyth); Fr Gerard Hatton (St Teresa of Lisieux in Craigmillar); Fr Paul Lee (St Agatha, Methil); Fr Syriac Palakudiyil (St Margaret's in Dunfermline).
Holy Mass at St Margaret's Church.
From front: Fr Emmanuel Francis (St Margaret's in South Queensferry); Fr Francisco Liporace IVE and Fr Simon Willis IVE (The Holy Family in Cowdenbeath); Fr Daniel Doherty (St Francis Xavier's in Falkirk).
Holy Mass at St Margaret's Church.
Dr László Kálmán, Consul General of Hungary in Edinburgh, chats with a Member of the Knights of Malta after Mass.
Members of The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
Holy Mass at St Margaret's Church.
Holy Mass at St Margaret's Church.

Diaconate ordinations: Homily of Archbishop Cushley

Congratulations to Paul Henderson and Peter Shankland who were ordained Deacons by Archbishop Cushley yesterday (14 June)  at the Basillica of St Paul's Outside the Walls in Rome.

Several parishioners from St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh were there for the occasion as well as the Cathedral's Schola Cantorum to provide music for the occasion.

Archbishop Leo Cushley ordained both men and his homily can be read below.

Homily of Archbishop Leo Cushley

Diaconate Ordinations of the Pontifical Beda College, 14 June 2023, Basilica of St Paul’s outside the Walls, Rome.

My dear sons,

Today, you will be invited to complete another significant step in your training, as you are raised to the dignity of deacon.

Now, if you were listening, I just talked of you taking a new “step”, of being “raised” and to a new “dignity”.

This is a kind of language that we don’t hear much in church anymore, and that sounds to our modern ears a little old-fashioned, even a little pompous or proud.

And yet, in the real world, when people get a better job, or start making more money, we talk with satisfaction of them getting a “promotion”, of “going up in the world”, or of their “upward mobility” in society.

And in the ancient world, whence the Church draws this kind of language, they too talked of moving “onwards” and “upwards”.

Having said that, however, in the ancient Roman world, not even Julius Caesar could go straight to being Consul: everyone had to start somewhere, and everyone had to start on the first step of the stair.

And, standing on that step for a while, and learning about it, and practising it, you could then present yourself for the next office, and then go up another step; and, if elected or chosen to proceed, you moved up to a more senior office again, in other words, as if you were taking another step up.

Towards Holy Orders

This was called the cursus, and the Church still employs its own cursus, or course, as our seminarians pass from the ministries of reader and acolyte, promoting them in due course to Holy Orders.

So, today is a step in a well-thought-out set of steps, that leads you up towards your ultimate goal, the ministerial priesthood.  But getting there is done gradually, literally up one step after another, slowly, deliberately, over time and with time, so that you learn the task at hand, gain experience and build upon it, and so that the step after that can be taken more confidently.

As a deacon, your first task will be to proclaim the Gospel as a herald of Christ; to represent Christ as his ambassador; and to serve others, just as the Lord served us perfectly by His death on the Cross.

This gradual, measured way of doing things, the Church imports from the ancient world.  What the Church does not import however, is the worldly pride that goes with these “promotions”.

Archbishop Cushley celebrated a Thanksgiving Mass the day following the ordination at the Church of Saint Mary of Grace 'alle Fornaci It was concelebrated by priests from the Archdiocese including Canon Patrick Burke and Fr Robert Taylor (St Mary's Cathedral), Fr Nick Welsh (Pontifical Scots College) and Fr James Cadman.

If she talks of your “promotion”, she means that you are moving on to ever greater service, not the command of others.

If she talks of your “dignity”, she means you standing on that step and learning of the duty, of the responsibility that you have, at that level, on that step, so that you fulfill, soberly and to the best of your ability, the task at hand.

Dignity

Dignity isn’t about what people think about you, never mind what you think about yourself.  Dignity is about understanding your duty and about fulfilling energetically and with a clear conscience the task entrusted to you by the Church, and always in a spirit of service.

All the ministries you receive before being ordained to the sacred priesthood contain an essential component of what it is to be a dedicated and effective priest.

Thus, as a deacon, your first task will be to proclaim the Gospel as a herald of Christ; to represent Christ as his ambassador; and to serve others, just as the Lord served us perfectly by His death on the Cross.

The Word of God is full of power.  It is the means by which God formed Israel into His own People.  As they journeyed through the wilderness, they listened to God’s word.

On their way to the promised land, the People of God became a people, because they were drawn together and formed by the Word.  That formative role of the Word is seen again, and is real and effective every day, in our liturgical assembly.

And it will happen again, as you proclaim the Gospel to your brothers and sisters, to the new Israel, the Church of Christ, and as you learn to preach and live the Gospel effectively, wisely and well.

Proclaim the Word

As deacons, you will proclaim the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ; and later, as priests, you will offer the Word made flesh in sacrifice to the Father in the Eucharist.  But, even now, consider how essential is the task of proclaiming Christ the Word in the Eucharistic assembly.

Note the respect and attention paid to Christ the Word proclaimed in the Gospel, and make it your task to proclaim him and preach him to the very best of your ability.

The Schola Cantorum provided music at the Thanksgiving Mass.

So, a deacon is a herald.  But by the name’s meaning, diakonos, he is also by definition a servant: he is a servant of the Gospel, a servant of Christ and a servant of his people, especially the poor.

As a deacon, you will be a leader in the liturgical assembly, but you are to be a servant leader.  The office of deacon is closely associated with the office of bishop, because, after the episcopate, it is in the deacon that the humility of true Christian leadership is seen most clearly.

All clergy are to be servant leaders, but deacons are the concentrated incarnation of it.

This is why you are called to imitate perfectly our Lord Jesus Christ, who said of himself, that he came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.  Today that task now falls to you.

Celibacy

Finally, you are called to this service in the celibate state.

Permanent deacons, those who remain on this step, are not asked to remain celibate.

You, on the other hand, are to be deacons only for a time, and as a part of your training for the sacred priesthood.  It is in this light that celibacy is to be seen, as your acceptance of it is to be a part of your journey into the mystery of Christ’s priestly sacrifice on the Cross.

You time as deacon is also a time of learning and the gaining of valuable experience.

Give yourselves joyfully to the Lord and He will reward you with many consolations, now and in the life to come.

You add it to your time as a lector, forming and being formed by the Word; to your time as an acolyte, approaching ever closer the mystery of the living Lord in the Eucharist; and to that, as deacons, you will add the ability to preach the Gospel; to do it ably; and to make it living and active in the world through a pure heart and a clear conscience.

You will now officiate at baptims; you will bring the Eucharist to the sick and the dying; you will conduct marriages and funerals; you will be a herald of the Gospel; you will learn to be an ambassador of Christ.

And you will do all of this, sanctified by the Prayer of the Church, by your respect and obedience for your bishop, and by the joyful sacrifice and commitment of a celibate life.

So, my dear sons, imitate Christ the Deacon in your loving service of His people.  Give yourselves joyfully to the Lord and He will reward you with many consolations, now and in the life to come.

Embrace the prayer life of the Church; learn the full liberty of your obedience to your bishop; and make celibacy a pure gift of yourself to everyone.

Be the Lord’s faithful herald and true ambassador; and may Christ the Lord, the Father’s true servant on the Cross, reward you. Amen.

VACANCY: Director of Property (full-time)

The Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh is seeking to appoint a Director of Property to provide management and oversight of all church properties within the Archdiocese and also of Mount Vernon Cemetery.

The role holder should have significant property-related experience with relevant qualifications and training in a related discipline such as surveying, architecture or engineering.

The role is multi-faceted and will be both strategic and hands on. Strong communication skills, organisational skills and initiative will be key to success in the role, as will experience of managing a small team.

To apply, please send your CV and a cover letter detailing how your skills and experience make you suitable for this role to recruitment@staned.org.uk by Thursday 29 June 2023. Interviews are scheduled to take place on Thursday 6 July 2023.

Job details

Location: 100 Strathearn Rd, Edinburgh, EH9 1BB.
Hours: Full time, 35 hours a week, Mon- Fri .
Salary: £45-£48k, dependent on qualifications/experience.

Main purpose and scope of role

Line management

Key relationships

Key responsibilities

Parishes

Leased Properties

Sales

Gillis Centre, Edinburgh

Mount Vernon Cemetery, Edinburgh     

Other property work or projects

Qualifications/Knowledge:

Experience:

Skills & Ability:

Day for Life highlights trauma caused by abortion

This year the Day for Life (Sunday 18 June) seeks to highlight the trauma caused by abortion.

Many in our society, but especially women, are affected by abortion and the Bishops want people to know they can find a welcome in the heart of the Church and the promise of hope and healing found in Christ Jesus.

Bishop John Keenan (Paisley Diocese), Bishop President for Marriage, Families & Life, has issued a pastoral letter for the day.

He writes: "The Day for Life is a day in our Church’s year which is dedicated to raising awareness about the meaning and value of human life at every stage and in every condition from the womb to the tomb.

" This year’s theme is  Listen to Her. It tells Jane’s Story (see below) of the healing a woman found through the Church and the Sacraments and a Rachel’s Vineyard retreat following the tragic circumstances of her abortion, and of her long journey back to peace and light.

"The theme focuses on the all too often silent voices of women like Jane, on their regret, their lifelong struggle with post-abortion trauma and their hope of eventual healing and new life."

A collection will be taken for the Apostolate for Life in parishes in the Archdiocese around this time.

Jane’s Story

I went to Catholic schools, I knew about God and morality on some level, but for me, the culture spoke louder when it came to making decisions around sexuality.

When I was 15, I discovered I was pregnant and the fear clouded everything.

I had one aim, and that was to solve the problem I had found myself in.

A quick search for confidential help landed me at a clinic connected to an abortion provider.

They seemed to genuinely believe that abortion was the solution to my problem and I don’t remember discussing any other options.

I was relieved when they determined that I was capable enough to make this decision alone, without the involvement of an adult, which is still legal to this day.

By hearing other people share their stories and being gently encouraged by the team, I was able to speak the truth of what had happened to me on that day. My feelings were acknowledged, including my sense of loss.

That Saturday I travelled alone to the clinic. My parents were unaware, due to other difficulties in the family home that I didn’t want to contribute to.

I went through the degrading experience of a surgical abortion, and I thought that if I could just get through that day, I would never have to think about it again.

I remember feeling conflicted as a tear rolled down my cheek, that I quickly wiped away.

I believed I couldn’t be sad because this was something I had chosen to do.

So after the initial feeling of relief, I pushed down the experience and avoided anything to do with the topic of abortion.

Looking for direction

It was difficult to be around pregnant women and I found the anniversary difficult each year.

Over the next few years, I became more curious about faith through the invitation of a friend.

I was looking for direction and truth, but my spiritual life was always tainted by the thought that I could never be forgiven for what I had done – somehow, God’s mercy didn’t apply to me.

In the fleeting moments of honesty with myself and God, I knew that my choice didn’t make me lose something, but someone.

At times, this realisation was unbearable. This led to periods of deep depression and suicidal thoughts, as well as more promiscuous behaviour and numbing the pain with alcohol, food, or isolation.

This all changed when I was encouraged to go to confession. Even when I tried to justify my choice, the priest met me with the love and mercy of Jesus.

The tears he shed melted my heart of stone. I began to give up my old ways of life and follow His way.

Healing

On this journey I was introduced to Rachel’s Vineyard: a healing ministry that provides support for those who are suffering after abortion.

I remember the kindness of the woman that I spoke to, and I knew I wouldn’t be judged there.

It took so much courage to go on a retreat, but I can genuinely say it changed my life.

I truly believe that if I’d have known the impact abortion would have had on my life, even as a teenager, I would have made a different choice.

By hearing other people share their stories and being gently encouraged by the team, I was able to speak the truth of what had happened to me on that day.

My feelings were acknowledged, including my sense of loss.

I was finally given permission to grieve for the baby that had died through my choice. I acknowledged my motherhood and named my son Joseph.

This was the start of God turning the guilt, shame and unforgiveness into a deep love for my son, as any good mother would have.

The healing has continued alongside my faith journey. I’ve taken responsibility for the role I played in my abortion, but with perspective and time, I can see that my ‘choice’ wasn’t really a choice at all.

There were other people’s failures, and an inability to truly give informed consent as a teenager that also contributed.

The option that was presented as a quick fix solution has eternal consequences, and I truly believe that if I’d have known the impact abortion would have had on my life, even as a teenager, I would have made a different choice.

Find Day for Life Resources here. Find out more about the Archdiocesan Pro-Life Office here.

GALLERY: Sun shines on Corpus Christi Procession

Hundreds of people gathered in Falkirk on Sunday for a Corpus Christi parade.

They were a public witness to the Eucharistic Christ, singing hymns glorifying His name through the town centre.

Thanks to Fr Daniel Doherty and the team at St Francis Xavier's for hosting!

Gallery

CONFERENCE: St Dominic & His Preachers of Grace

People from across Scotland will get the chance to hear first hand about the Dominican way of Life at a conference in Edinburgh this weekend.

Saint Dominic and his Preachers of Grace takes place on 23-24 June and offers participants an opportunity to explore what lies at the heart of being a Dominican.

Archbishop Cushley will celebrate Mass with the Dominicans at St Mary's Cathedral on Saturday at midday. Fr Timothy Radcliff OP will preach

Fr Dermot Morrin OP, of St Albert's Chaplaincy in Edinburgh, said: “I have often noticed that many of the people to whom we preach don’t know much more about us than hearing the sermon.  They know very little about our way of life and the scope of our various ministries.

I hope that all those who come will gain a deeper sense of the grace and joy the call to follow St Dominic brings.

"I thought an afternoon seminar might help but my idea has caught on and now it is a fully-fledged conference with about twenty Dominican friars, sisters and laity speaking."

He added "I am looking forward to welcoming those who know us already and those who would like to get to know us.

"I hope that all those who come will gain a deeper sense of the grace and joy the call to follow St Dominic brings.”

Speakers include Fr Timothy Radcliffe OP, Fr Richard Finn OP, and  Fr Fergus Kerr OP (who is based in our Archdiocese) as well as many other Friars, Sisters and Lay Dominicans.

Full details of events and accommodation is at https://scotland.op.org/preachersofgrace/

The Dominicans will explain all about themselves by giving an account of what they have done, what they are doing currently and what they could do in the future.

In our Archdiocese the Dominicans are based at St Albert's Chaplaincy at the University of Edinburgh.

St Dominic and His Preachers of Grace - programme

Friday 23rd June

6pm  Welcome and Introduction   Dermot Morrin OP, local Superior,  and Martin Ganeri OP, Provincial.  Assembly Hall

6.50pm Leave the Assembly Hall  Use the Castlehill door to go to St Columba by the Castle

7pm to 9pm Dinner     St Columba by the Castle

 

Saturday 24th June

9am to 9.30am tea, & coffees   Rainy Hall.  

9.30am  – 10.30am “The Several ~Histories of the Dominicans in Scotland” – Richard Finn OP Assembly Hall 

10.30am – 11.20am “The Province in my Time” Fergus Kerr OP  (video shown in Assembly Hall)

11.25am Conference Photo  Front Quad of New College

Walk from New College to the Cathedral 

12 Noon  Mass  St Mary’s RC Cathedral, celebrated by Archbishop Cushley with Timothy Radcliffe OP preaching.   

1pm Leave Cathedral and walk to New College for lunch

1.20pm – 2.15pm  Sandwich lunch   Rainy Hall. 

2.15pm  -3.45pm “What we now do”   Presentations on the various ministries of Dominican Friars, Sisters and Laity.  Assembly Hall

3.45pm  – 4pm coffee, tea Rainy Hall

4pm to 5pm “Preaching and the Imagination”  Timothy Radcliffe OP Assembly Hall 

5pm  – 5.35pm  “The Young Respond”   2 young Friars, 2 young Sisters and 4 young Lay Dominicans respond  Assembly Hall

5.35pm – 5.45pm Closing Remarks and Many Thanks. Assembly Hall 

5.45pm - 6pm  Vespers   Assembly Hall

6pm - Depart

Find out more about St Albert's Chaplaincy here.

Join us for St Margaret's Pilgrimage in Dunfermline

The St Margaret's Pilgrimage 2023 will take place in Dunfermline on Sunday 18 June.

The day features:

Archbishop Cushley said: "The pilgrimage is a chance to give thanks to God for the wonderful example of St Margaret, whose life of faith, charity and leadership continues to inspire people today.

Holy Mass at St Margaret's Church in East Port will be at 2:30pm (image from 2019 pilgrimage).

"It's always special for us to gather together where she lived and did the works of piety that have become renowned across the centuries. I hope to see many of you in Dunfermline on Sunday 18 June for its return."

The pilgrimage has a rich history in Dunfermline and returns after a break of three years due to the Covid pandemic.

There will be an opportunity to receive a blessing with a first class relic of St Margaret after the Mass at St Margaret's in East Port.

Guests include the Provost of Fife Jim Leishman and The Right Rev Dr Rev Iain Greenshields, the current Moderator of the Church of Scotland who is minister at St Margaret's Church in Touch, Dunfemline.

Also attending is László Kálmán, the Consul General of Hungary and representatives of the Knights of St Columba, the Knights of Malta and St Margaret's Guild.

Pupils from Holy Name Primary (Oakley), St Margaret's Primary and St Columba's Secondary (both Dunfermline) will contribute to the Mass.

*Please note, there is no street procession this year.

Accessibility and Seating

The Mass is at 2:30pm, please be seated by 2:15pm. Wheelchair seating is at the back left of Church. Stewards will be in attendance to help.

Streaming

The Mass will be streamed from the church's website here.

Getting there

Car: There is a free car park in Leys Park Road near St Margaret's Church (see below map). The church car park is available only for dropping off those with mobility issues. Council car parks are free until 1pm on Sunday.

Train: Dunfermline Town Train Station is a five to ten minute walk from St Margaret's Church and Dunfermline Abbey.

Bus: Dunfermline Bus Station is a five to ten minute walk from St Margaret's Church and a five minute walk from Dunfermline Abbey.

Maps

Becoming a Deacon: Paul Henderson's story

The Cathedral is my spiritual home. Without the Cathedral, and its parish community, I might not be a Catholic, never mind training to be a priest.

It was through the Cathedral’s RCIA group that I was introduced fully to the faith and, on Easter Sunday at the Cathedral in 2016, received into the Catholic Church.

Being part of the RCIA programme was a profound experience.

Paul (left) with friend and fellow seminarian Peter Shankland. Both will be ordained in Rome on 14 June 2023.

I felt the truth of Jesus Christ growing in me, in the depth of my being, and was continually moved by the piety of the volunteers.

They would be there, always smiling, to welcome us enquirers, despite some of them having come straight from work (and surely exhausted) yet still willing to do this Christian service.

I remember how one evening a young priest from Africa explained his clerical garments and their ritual significance, before vesting and saying Mass.

I was struck as much by the beauty of his faith as by anything.

I remember asking him “how long did your training as a priest take?”

When I said this, one of the RCIA volunteers said to me “It’s not too late to get your application in, Paul!”

That really stuck in my mind, even though, at fifty-one, I presumed I must be too old to train to be a priest.

Beauty of the Mass

When I started RCIA, I thought I should acclimatise myself better to the liturgy, so started attending the twelve-noon Mass.

It wasn’t long before my eyes would fill with tears as I sang the Latin Creed joyously with the others: “Et expecto resurrectionem mortuorum…!”

Peter and Paul at the Beda College in Rome where they are studying for the priesthood.

I was so moved at the aching beauty of the Mass and can honestly say that the Cathedral choir was thus part of my conversion, as was the devotion of the congregation, and whoever was responsible for the incredible flowers that appeared each week.

I remember Masses when Fr Patrick Burke was celebrating without a Deacon.

I can’t quite explain why, but the image of him on those occasions burnt itself in my memory, an isolated Catholic Priest acting in persona Christi.

I loved the multicultural congregation as well, the myriad of Europeans and “ethnic minorities”, so different from the very white Anglican church I was used to.

Confirmation

My eventual Confirmation in 2016 left me feeling so content.

There were drinks with the archbishop, clergy, and others, after that Easter Vigil, for those who had been baptised and confirmed at the cathedral that evening, and I had the strongest feeling that I had come “home”, by joining a truly global Catholic Church.

Just over two months later, on 23 June as it happened: I went to see Fr Patrick with a strong feeling I wished to serve the Church in a deeper way.

I’ll never forget the leap of joy in my heart when he asked if I’d considered the priesthood.

I will not forget the date, partly because it was the day of the Referendum on whether the UK should leave the European Union!

I asked him if there was any possibility I could look into the Permanent Diaconate.

I’ll never forget the leap of joy in my heart when he asked if I’d considered the priesthood.

At the meeting, he continued to say that, at my age, I would probably be sent to the Beda College in Rome. Strange though it is, I immediately knew I was going to this college I’d never heard of in Rome.

Following the call

The next day I called people close to me and told them that I was offering myself as a Catholic priest.

I can honestly say I felt something of the rushing wind of the Holy Spirit pushing me forward.

That said, it took me considerable effort to extricate myself from my career and life in Edinburgh in order to follow the call.

In case this doesn’t sound all too rosy-tinted, I must add that before starting RCIA at this wonderful Cathedral, at the recommendation of a friend, I had approached two Catholic priests asking for advice on becoming a Roman Catholic.

In both cases, I had the strong impression that they were almost bemused at the idea, as if they could not understand why anyone might want to join.

It really was through Fr Patrick that I finally glimpsed the heights and the depth and the incomparable grandeur of the Catholic Church and understood that (as the Magisterium puts it) the Body of Christ ‘subsists’ in the Catholic Church, mystically and physically embodied in the institutional Church we see with our eyes, in our congregations, in its liturgy and its social action around the world.

I was also struck by Fr Patrick’s ability to reveal the depth of the Scriptures in his sermons.

Cathedral community

I’ve had such good connections formed with the Cathedral community that in many ways it has become like a family.

It gives me joy that my sister Rowena followed me, joining a later Cathedral RCIA programme and being confirmed in the Cathedral.

Also, my good friends Diana and her children Catherine-Charlotte and Iain, were likewise confirmed into the Cathedral in 2021.

The Cathedral has as well, for the time being anyway, literally become my home. When I left for the preparatory seminary in Salamanca at the start of 2020, Covid hit, and I had to return to Scotland.

Fr Patrick very kindly let me stay at the Cathedral, as I no longer had a place of my own.

This kind offer has extended to the present and I’ve stayed at the Cathedral during breaks from here at the Pontifical Beda College in southwest Rome.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge that I would never be here if Archbishop Leo had not approved it. I am extremely grateful for all the support he has given me.

Indeed, I am indebted to the whole Cathedral community who have been so supportive of my journey. Thank you.

Paul Henderson will be ordained a Deacon by Archbishop Leo Cushley at the Papal Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls in Rome on Wednesday 14 June 2023. He will be ordained alongside Peter Shankland, who is also a parishioner of the Cathedral. Read his story here. This article first appeared in Crux, the magazine of the Friends of St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh, Spring 2023 edition.