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PASTORAL LETTER

FROM THE ARCHBISHOP TO THE CLERGY AND PEOPLE OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF GLASGOW

ON THE YEAR OF THE PRIESTHOOD

 

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

 

Greetings,

 

St Mark in the Gospel of this Sunday records an event in the life of Jesus when he was asleep in the stern of a boat, of which the helmsman in all probability was Saint Peter, with the other disciples as crewmen. The Catholic Church has often been described as the Barque of Peter, at the helm of which is our Holy Father, the Pope. The image of course can be extended to every diocese where the helmsman is the bishop and the crew members are his priests.

 

The image is good from a number of angles.  There are times when the sailing can be calm and good progress maintained; at other times seas can be stormy and reaching port is a more hazardous venture. However, the angle we particularly want to take today is that of Our Lord’s presence in the boat, apparently sleeping.  When roused he rebukes the wind and the sea, saying “quiet now! Be calm!” To the frightened crewmen he says: “Why are you so frightened? How is it that you have no faith?”

 

I have been at the helm of this particular ship, the Archdiocese of Glasgow, for seven years now and you will know that I have had to make some hard decisions with regard to the placement of priests, I have had to take into account a shortfall in their number as a contributory factor to the closing and amalgamation of parishes. Not all those parishes that we hope to keep open and independent have at the moment a duly-appointed Parish Priest. Furthermore, there are concerns for the future, since we need to anticipate the retirement of priests, and the fact that the health of some may not allow them to continue to the canonical age of retirement.  To compound the difficulty I have had to relieve a number of priests of their pastoral duties, not always at their own request, but all for their own benefit or that of the faithful.

 

However, on the positive side, this very Sunday, at Scotus College, I am ordaining two of our students to the Diaconate in anticipation of their ordination to the priesthood next year.  They will join with a third candidate whom I ordained earlier this year at the Scots College in Rome. This will result in three Priestly Ordinations at the conclusion of a year which the Holy Father has designated the Year of Priesthood.

 

The Year commenced on Friday last, June 19th – the Feast of the Sacred Heart and celebrates the 150th anniversary of the death of Saint John Vianney on August 4th.  Saint John Vianney is the Patron Saint of Parish Priests.

 

Known as the Cure D’Ars, Saint John Vianney was appointed to a small country village in Southern France. He was not regarded as being overly-intelligent and yet he was able to transform that village through his piety and devotion.  His parishioners saw in him a man completely in love with Christ and selfless to an heroic degree. He saw in his people a flock that needed shepherding and he did so in the main by his patient catechesis and pastoral availability.

 

People flocked to Ars from the country roundabout, seeking his absolution in confession and his advice from the pulpit.  Communities were transformed.

 

His was undoubtedly a unique and graced personality. All of us engaged in the love and service of our people strive to do our best to be in some sense like him, in very different circumstances and times.

 

During the course of this Year, as your bishop I invite you to give renewed support to your priests, enabling them to fulfill their vocation with the help you can offer in so many different ways. For some it will be physical, for others it will be educational; for others it will be by responding to invitations to join him in prayer, and especially for vocations to the priesthood, without which the flock of Christ will lack the Shepherds it needs.

 

Already the bishops, after consultation amongst themselves and with priests from their respective dioceses, and out of a desire to help them, have instituted a programme of in-service formation, which will mean that at times priests will of necessity be away from their parishes.  I call upon parishioners to expect that and to understand it, and not to make demands that would present priests with obstacles to their attending retreats, days of recollection, in-service courses and the very necessary social encounters with their fellow clergy, in which they find mutual support. I am fully behind the arrangements which will enable priests to take full advantage of the programme prepared for them, enabling them to reflect upon their priestly ministry and to find new strength in the company of their fellow priests, all for the benefit of the Faithful.

 

One of the areas where, in addition to parish duties, priests are often required to extend their ministry is to hospitals. They appreciate that hospitalisation is one of the most pastorally important moments in the life of any member of the Church, and they are very ready to respond to calls.  However, it would be helpful if those going to hospital themselves for an operation, or those visiting the sick would anticipate the need of the Sacrament of the Sick and advise their Parish Priests accordingly. Deacons and lay ministers complement the work of priests by visiting the sick and distributing Holy Communion.  Priests called to the deathbed of loved ones will always be prepared to attend if they can.  They will anticipate joining members of the family as they offer prayers for their dying relatives.  All I ask is that people remember that priests have other duties and should not be called unnecessarily if what people need can be anticipated, most particularly the Sacrament of the Sick.

 

The ordination of twelve Permanent Deacons, which I will be privileged to undertake on the 28th of June, will result in help being provided in many ways, not least in hospital, school and prison chaplaincy. Supported in most instances by wives and family these candidates for the permanent diaconate will greatly assist priests and people of the Archdiocese.

 

We have to thank the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council for the restoration of the Diaconate as a permanent ordained ministry within the Church.

 

Deacons receive, as do priests and bishops, the Sacrament of Orders. The various ministries of the apostles of Jesus Christ are thus shared out.

 

While others are privileged to assist, the priest has the privileged position of presiding at the Holy Eucharist, and through his priesthood providing food which is the very Body and Blood of Christ for the sacred journey ahead.

 

It is through those who share in this apostolic ministry that assurance is given of Christ’s presence in our midst sacramentally.  During this year we thank God for the Call he has addressed to our brothers in the priesthood, not forgetting at this time those who are called to the permanent diaconate and are fellow workers with them in the care of God’s people and the building up of the Mystical Body of Christ.

 

The disciples in the boat cried out to the Lord:  “Master, do you not care?” Of course the Lord cares, and we care likewise when we turn to Him in prayer and ask for an increase in vocations.

 

 

Finally, let me thank you for all the prayerful support you already give our priests; for the respect and affection you show them; and for sharing their labours as fellow members of the Church, responsible with them for the Church’s wellbeing and action.

 

With every blessing,

 

Yours devotedly in Christ,

 

 

  

+Mario Conti

Archbishop of Glasgow

 

ARCHBISHOP'S MESSAGE TO SAINT MARGARET'S CHILDREN AND FAMILY CARE SOCIETY

 

During a Mass for the Society at the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, Cardonald, Glasgow on Sunday 7th June 2009 Archbishop Conti delivered a message of encouragement to members and supporters.

 

After quoting from the example of Saint Margaret of Scotland, the Archbishop remarked:

 

“How fitting this example is to the Society which has as its principal concern the fostering and adoption of children… our concern is for the children; it is their needs which are paramount.

 

Saint Margaret’s does not exist primarily as an agency to provide couples with children. Children are not commodities; we are not providing services to customers; we are finding loving couples for children in need.  And we are preparing and supporting them in their fostering and adopting.

 

Great skill and wise discernment are required on the part of our staff and the Board of Saint Margaret’s to ensure the wellbeing and happiness of both children and their foster and adopting parents.

 

Guidance in these matters comes both from within the professional service, and from the insights of the Church.  We learn not only from academic studies and theological reflection, but from good practice observed over many years forming the tradition of care.

 

I believe that that tradition has been recognised within our own Scottish Parliament.  That does not prevent attacks being mounted, as in the case of Catholic schools, on the grounds of an exclusivity.  We must always strive to make people feel welcome, even if in pursuance of the good we make preferential options for the poor.  The poor in this case are the children who more than most require a normality which by circumstance has so far been denied them, and the security of a stable home created by a loving married couple.

 

We acknowledge that the law allows exceptions and we can never in principle preclude them. Nonetheless, we know the tradition which Saint Margaret’s has established and we hold to it.

 

On behalf of the Church I thank Board members, the staff of Saint Margaret’s, and above all the foster and adoptive parents who, through the agency of Saint Margaret’s, have offered a home to children in need”.

ARCHBISHOP CONTI AT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

THE Church of Scotland holds an annual General Assembly bringing together hundreds of clerical and lay representatives from parishes the length and breadth of Scotland. 

There is serious interest in its reports and decisions. It is the court of the Church of Scotland and its only authority under God and the bible. It is generous in its invitations to other churches and ecclesial communities and in its hospitality to other organisations.

Archbishop Conti, not for the first time, was this year’s delegate from the Catholic Church, encouraged to speak but not allowed to vote. There was prolonged applause to an address to him by the Moderator, Rt Rev Bill Hewitt, commending him for his many years of service of the ecumenical movement.

High on the agenda of the meeting was the issue of the appointment of a minister in an openly gay relationship following the collapse of his marriage. This appointment was confirmed but the issue is to be reflected on and considered by the presbyteries of the Kirk under the auspices of a nine person committee who will report back to the assembly in 2011.

Archbishop Conti said: “It was clear this year that there was a very considerable split between those who upheld the traditional teaching of Christians on sex and marriage pointing to the consistent biblical injunctions against homosexual acts and those who sought to present a different interpretation.

“As an observer I had no voting role, but I was ready to share with members of the assembly  the very clear insight of the Catholic Church,  best summarised by Pope Paul VI in 1968, when he wrote in the prophetic encyclical Humanae Vitae that the unitive and procreative aspects of human sexuality are inseparable. This provides the key to understanding what is and is not honest in sexual behaviour.

“I would hope that in the next two years the Church of Scotland will welcome the insights of the other Christian churches in its discussions and deliberations on the most appropriate way forward and consider the ecumenical implications of any decision it makes.”

FAMINE EXHIBITION

THE exhibition Famine: New Works by Peter Howson, commissioned by the Archdiocese to recall the Great Irish Famine has opened at St Mungo’s Museum of Religious Life and Art in Glasgow.

www.glasgowmuseums.com/venue/showExhibition.cfm

Some of the proceeds of the sales of paintings will be donated to St Mary’s Parish in the Calton area of Glasgow, the spiritual home of Irish emigres who arrived in Scotland in the mid 19th century.

Archbishop Conti said: "The famine which blighted Ireland in the middle of the 19th century was more than a natural disaster. It left an indellible mark on the history and psyche of the Irish people, a mark which is still felt today. 

One of its consequences was mass migration across the Irish Sea, leading to a cultural change in the life of Scotland, as Irish men, women and children arrived in search of work and betterment, fleeing the tragedy of famine in their native land. 

While academics and writers have revisited the Famine period with some regularity, it has not been so frequently the object of the artist’s gaze. And so following discussions with Peter Howson, an artist for whom I have enormous respect, the Archdiocese has commissioned a series of works which both illustrate the historical reality of famine-blighted Ireland circa 1850 but also speak of the continuing horror of famine in today’s world, where, alas, hunger continues to stalk humanity. 

Peter Howson’s work is at its best, I believe, when it illustrates the process of redemption through suffering. I know the artist has found this subject matter to be a rich vein of inspiration, offering him the chance to explore the drama of human suffering in both an historical and spiritual way. 

The results are outstanding examples of how art can speak to peoples of all backgrounds, teaching, perhaps even preaching a visual sermon on issues as diverse as human dignity,the family, justice and the providence of God. These paintings are epic depictions of an epic set of circumstances. They are also vivid, inspirational and magnificent works of art. I commend this exhibition to all".

 

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS ARE INCLUSIVE



IT IS time to reclaim the true meaning of the word "inclusion" ... that was the message of Archbishop Conti to Catholic Head Teachers gathered for their annual conference in Crieff.

The Archbishop's talk on The Inclusive Catholic School pointed out that inclusion is a thoroughly Catholic concept, illustrating his message with examples from the Bible and Church history.

He criticised the abuse of the term by some, which he said can damage society: "There is harm if it leads to a society where in order to ensure that every opinion is included, relations are redefined and pretences are sanctified and no-one is permitted to voice opinions that may be regarded as contradicting the orthodoxy of inclusivity."

He added: "The key of course is discernment, or as expressed by one of the four cardinal virtues – prudence.


"When so qualified, inclusion is a concept which should not only be very comfortable for us to consider and apply, but is indeed an integral part of what we mean by the provision of a Catholic education. Even the word 'Catholic' has in its origins the sense of inclusiveness – the whole wide world."


 

 

 

ARCHBISHOP'S EASTER MESSAGE

EVERYTHING has context: geographical, historical, political, social, religious.  The context in which we live our lives both illuminates and influences our condition.  It can also challenge our existence, or alternatively give purpose and meaning to it.

Think of the credit crunch and its effects on the lives of many people, affecting their employment and housing and general wellbeing.

Think of the political tensions in the Middle East and the consequent spasmodic outbreaks of war.

Think of the cultural conflicts feeding terrorism, keeping our security forces on the watch...

...Today our Saviour has shattered the bars and burst the gates of death. He has torn down the barricades of hell and overthrown the power of Satan...

May our shepherd, the source of living water cleanse and renew us in His image through the Easter sacraments, and refresh us all with His Easter joy!

 
 

ITALIAN EARTHQUAKE DISASTER

THE terrible earthquake which has struck L’Aquila and its surroundings has shocked all who have seen images of the destruction on TV. Such feelings of shock are often followed by a desire to help, and so after disussions between Archbishop Conti and SCIAF, a way of assisting the victims of the quake has been devised.

If you would like to offer something to help those affected by the disaster, donations can be sent to Italian Earthquake Appeal, SCIAF,

19 Park Circus, Glasgow G3 6BE. Cheques should be made payable to “SCIAF” but marked on the rear “Italian Earthquake Fund”.

All monies raised will be channeled through SCIAF’s sister agency, Caritas Italiana, who will direct it to emergency relief in L’Aquila.

 

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GOVERNMENT MUST CONTROL GREED AND CREATE JOBS - ARCHBISHOP

ARCHBISHOP Conti delivered a powerful commentary on the current financial crisis in the course of his annual visit as guest preacher at Glasgow University on Sunday February 8.

Building on a theme from his Education Sunday address a week earlier, the Archbishop focused on the Church’s social teaching, which offered a key to understanding and responding to the current slump.

The Archbishop noted that, unusually, in this area, Church teaching followed practice – since it was only with Pope Leo’s encyclical Rerum Novarum of 1891 that the Church’s social activity and insight was codified, even though from the time of the Apostles the Church had been deeply involved in caring for the disadvantaged.

Summing up Pope Leo’s great magna carta, Archbishop Conti said: “Man has the right to receive as well as give, to share as well as to contribute to wealth creation.”

He went on to note the similarities between the Church’s insight and that of the drafters of the UN Declaration of Human Rights.

And he said: “The Government has its tasks to fulfil, the chief of which, in the long run, must be the controlling of greed on the part of those who direct and benefit from the banking industry and the creation of job opportunities for those affected by the recession.

“Our task,” he said, “is to ensure that wisdom and justice prevail.”

He ended with a famous quote from the Vatican II document, Gaudium et Spes:

“A man is more precious for what he is than for what he has. Similarly, all that men do to obtain greater justice, wider brotherhood, a more humane disposition of social relationships has greater worth than technical advances. For these advances can supply the material for human progress, but of themselves alone they can never actually bring it about.

“Hence, the norm of human activity is this: that in accord with the divine plan and will, it should harmonize with the genuine good of the human race, and allow men as individuals and as members of society to pursue their total vocation and fulfil it.”
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In his homily, the Archbishop added: "It would not be appropriate for me at this Mass to give an account of my priesthood throughout the years, but it would be right to recognise in your presence the goodness of God towards me which I can express in the words of the psalm from this Mass: My God is a rock where I take refuge; my shield, my stronghold. The Lord is worthy of all praise ...

"The privileges attached to the priesthood are immense, and the service we render the people of God over whom we are placed as shepherds is reciprocated with an affection that sustains us, as it has sustained me, throughout these 50 years of priesthood and I hope that your very presence here today is an assurance that it will continue throughout the years that remain to me in which I hope to continue in one mode or another to be of service to God’s people. And may the Lord continue to look with kindness on the face of His annointed."
HISTORIC COMMISSION FOR CATHEDRAL

The most important commission for a Scottish Catholic Cathedral since the Reformation has been announced by Glasgow’s Archbishop Mario Conti for St Andrew’s Cathedral in Clyde Street.

Peter Howson, Scotland’s most famous painter, has been asked to paint a huge, dramatic rendering of the martyrdom of St John Ogilvie, to be placed in St Andrew’s Cathedral when it re-opens after renovation works in 2010.

The painting, which will be the largest crowd scene ever painted in Scotland – with upwards of 600 individual figures included – will become the focal point in the renewed worship space, providing the backdrop to the new Blessed Sacrament Chapel.

Peter Howson is widely acclaimed in the UK and abroad for his powerful religious imagery and has been fascinated by the figure of St John Ogilvie for some time.

Announcing the commission, Archbishop Conti said the iconic new painting would become a major tourist attraction its own right, but more importantly had an important religious role. He said: “St John Ogilvie is our only canonised Scottish martyr. He met his death within the territory of what is now the Cathedral parish, just a few hundred yards from where his image will now be housed.

“I have always felt that we should have some memorial to this saint whose canonisation so many of us remember with great pride within our Cathedral. Now the opportunity has arisen to have a truly world-class painting done by Peter Howson, a painter I have long admired both for his artistic talent and his spirituality.

“The new work will grace our Blessed Sacrament shrine and it is very appropriate since St John Ogilvie was arrested and condemned because of his devotion to the Mass. Although a political gloss was put on his trial, his ‘crime’ was to continue to bring the solace of the Eucharist to the persecuted Catholics of his time.”

The painting will be underwritten by sponsors and donors so that the Archdiocese will not have to raise any special funds to finance its completion and installation.

Peter Howson said he was delighted to be asked to do the commission. He said: “As an artist it is a huge honour to be asked to create a work of art for a Cathedral. It was the patronage of the Church and its appreciation of the power of the image which led to so much that is great in western art. I feel delighted and humbled that my work is to be part of that story and that history. I am very enthusiastic about the subject matter. I have read everything I can get my hands on about St John Ogilvie, and have already completed a few initial portraits. I feel I know the man so well now, and that will increase over the year I expect to be working on the painting.

“His is an inspiring story of courage in the face of adversity, and I look forward to telling it through my art. So often the power of the image is as great if not greater than the power of the word.”

 

CATHEDRAL CLOISTER PLANS UNVEILED

A forgotten tragedy of World War II is to be marked in a special way through the opening of a new cloister in Glasgow.

Full plans for the proposed Italian Cloister Garden were revealed by First Minister Alex Salmond and Archbishop Mario Conti on Wednesday May 28 as they launched the exciting new project.

The cloister and garden will be built next to St Andrew's Cathedral in Clyde Street. It will recall in a special way all who died aboard the liner Arandora Star, which was sunk while carrying mainly Italian civilians who had been rounded up from their homes, shops and cafes as "enemy aliens" in 1940. The victims have never been properly remembered.

The last remaining survivor of the ship Mr Rando Bertoia, aged 88, (pictured, above, with Archbishop Conti, Mr Salmond and the architect Giulia Chiarini) was present at the launch as were relatives of those who died. Details of the proposed garden are to be found at the specially set up website www.italiancloister.org.uk

Archbishop Conti said: "The chance to build a cloister garden like this one comes but once in a lifetime. It falls to our generation to make this wonderful monument a reality. The appeal is open to anyone of any race or nationality. This will be a garden for everyone. We plan a "wall of names " to remember those who have died and those who help build the cloister.

"The monument itself will be a fitting symbol of the great bonds of friendship between Scotland and Italy. Besides offering much needed facilities and gathering space for the Cathedral, the Cloister Garden will quickly become a much-loved oasis of tranquility amid the city bustle; a place to come alone or with friends, to reflect, to sit awhile and to remember."

 


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ARCHBISHOP'S ENGAGEMENTS
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Celebration of the Year of St Paul in the Archdiocese of Glasgow

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