A new magazine for Scotland’s Catholics is to launch this weekend. The Scottish Catholic is a fortnightly magazine owned and run by three Catholic journalists
Managing Editor, Ian Dunn, said he and co-owners, Mary McGinty and Dan McGinty, believe there is a hunger for a dedicated Catholic publication in Scotland.
“People are quick to write off Catholicism and to quick write off print journalism, but there’s still plenty of people in Church on Sunday and plenty of people who want to read stories about their faith and their community.”
The first edition of Scotland’s new Catholic magazine will be published on October 15th. It’s a faithful and feisty look at what it means to a Catholic in Scotland now. The stories that matter and the Catholics who care. And the first edition is free! Deo Gratias!
— The Scottish Catholic (@TheScotCatholic) October 4, 2021
“Of course the Church has taken a hit during the pandemic,” he said. “Not everyone has come back yet, but we’re the original broad Church, there’s still a tremendous amount of life and excitement in parishes from Stornaway to Selkirk and we’re going to cover all of it.
Opportunity
Dunn is a former editor of the Scottish Catholic Observer, which ceased publication in 2020 after 135 years.
“What happened to the Observer was extremely sad, it’s a great loss but these things happen for a reason," he said. This seemed like a fantastic opportunity to take the best of that paper and put it into a fresh new package.
Our community needs a voice, to help us talk to each other and the wider world, and we will be that voice.”
The magazine, which will have print and digital editions, is independent of the Church but has the support of the Scottish Bishops.
A spokesperson said: "The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland welcomes the launch of the Scottish Catholic and wishes its founders every success in their mission to create a place where the voice of the Catholic community in Scotland can be heard,”
“An increasingly secular mainstream media often leads to superficial coverage of the Church and its teachings, making the role of the Catholic media very important. We hope the Scottish Catholic will promote the values of the Gospels, proudly present the teachings of the church and reflect Scottish Catholic life across our country.”
The first edition of Scottish Catholic will be available in parishes all over Scotland on the weekend of the 16th October and subscriptions are available through the website at www.scottishcatholic.com.