Over 100,000 copies of a commemorative booklet marking the 25th Anniversary
of the visit to Scotland of Pope John Paul II will be distributed to all 500
Catholic parishes in Scotland during the week beginning 26 August.

The text of the booklet quotes extensively from the texts used by the late
Pope during his 2 day visit in 1982 and is in the form of a letter from
Scotland's eight Catholic bishops. (The full text is shown below)

The publication also contains photographs of key moments in the visit.
Additionally, the National Pilgrimage planned for September 2nd at Carfin
will also mark the 25th anniversary of the Papal visit.

ENDS

Peter Kearney
Director
Catholic Media Office
5 St. Vincent Place
Glasgow
G1 2DH
0141 221 1168
07968 122291
pk@scmo.org
www.scmo.org


Notes to Editors:

1. Pope John Paul II arrived at Edinburgh Airport on 31 May 1982, from where
he traveled to Murrayfield Stadium for a rally with 40,000 young Catholics.
Later he met the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of
Scotland. On 1 June the Pope traveled by helicopter to Bellahouston Park in
Glasgow where he celebrated Mass for an estimated 300,000 people. The Pope
left Scotland on 2 June and traveled to Cardiff.

2. A PDF copy of the booklet is available from the Catholic Media Office,
please email requests to: mail@scmo.org

3. All of the Pope's homilies and speeches delivered during his visit to
Scotland can be viewed at: www.scmo.org

Pastoral Reflection on the 25th anniversary
of the Papal visit to Scotland

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ

Twenty five years ago this summer, the Catholic community of Scotland
welcomed to our country the successor of St Peter in the person of Pope John
Paul II. Few of us who lived through those wonderful, sun-drenched days of
early June 1982 will ever forget the feelings of elation, pride, excitement
and joy which marked every stop on the Holy Father’s brief but memorable
stay in our country.

Our feelings were summed up by the Pope himself, as he paused, unable to
continue with his discourse at Bellahouston Park because of the joyful
cheering of the crowd. Eventually regaining the attention of the faithful
he quipped:

“For several moments the Pope became silent and you became preachers. You
became witnesses that “This is the day made memorable by the Lord – what
immense joy for us!” (Ps 118:24)

After a quarter of a century it seems fitting to reflect on that “day made
memorable by the Lord” and draw new inspiration from the experience of the
Papal Visit.

During his two days among us, the Holy Father touched on many themes which
are just as relevant today as they were in 1982. Re-reading his words at a
distance of 25 years, we are struck by their importance for the
circumstances of today – perhaps even more than for the time in which they
were spoken.

That prophetic aspect was touched on in the encounter with young people at
Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, when the Pope encouraged them to prepare
for

their future responsibilities. Today, many of the young people who crowded
into those stands are parents themselves, living out their special vocation
as the first and primary educators of their own children.

We recall the great rallying cry of the Pope as he took his leave of the
youth of Scotland and repeat it in turn to the young people of the 21st
century:

“Do not let the sight of the world in turmoil shake your confidence in
Jesus. Not even the threat of nuclear war. Remember his words: “Be brave:
I have conquered the world”. Let no temptation discourage you. Let no
failure hold you down. There is nothing that you cannot master with the help
of the One who gives you strength.”

Today the challenges are different, though regretfully the shadow of nuclear
weapons still hangs over the horizon. However the Pope’s message of
consolation and hope should fortify us – young and old - as we struggle to
live out the vocation to which we have been called as Christians in the
home, the school, the workplace and among our friends, echoing the words of
Jesus himself who said: “Be brave: I have conquered the world.”

At Bellahouston Park in Glasgow, Pope John Paul addressed the whole of the
Catholic community in Scotland. He spoke about the need to appreciate our
heritage, about the responsibilities of the day and about the challenges of
the future. We can benefit from reflecting on this three-fold theme:

The Pope said: “You are the heirs to a sacred heritage. Your forefathers
have handed on to you the only inheritance they really prized, our holy
Catholic faith! From heaven their heartfelt appeal to you would be this:
“Set your hearts on his Kingdom” (Luke 12, 31).”

The Catholic community today plays a full and active part in the life of our
country. But in recognising the achievements of our time we must not forget
the struggles of our forebears. It is only by knowing where we come from
that we can take stock of where we are and plot a roadmap for the future.
“You originate in a glorious past, but you do not live in the past. You
belong to the present and your generation must not be content simply to rest
on the laurels won by your grandparents and great-grandparents. You must
give your response to Christ’s call to follow him and enter with him as
co-heirs into his Father’s heavenly Kingdom.”

In a passage of enormous significance he spoke clearly about the challenges
we were then about to face, and continue to face today: “We find it harder
to follow Christ today than appears to have been the case before.
Witnessing to him in modern life means a daily contest … As believers we are
constantly exposed to pressures by modern society, which would compel us to
conform to the standards of this secular age, substitute new priorities,
restrict our aspirations at the risk of compromising our Christian
conscience.”

In words which ring more true today than ever he said: “The spirit of this
world would have us capitulate on the most fundamental principles of our
Christian life. Today as never before, the basic doctrines of the Faith are
questioned and the value of Christian morality challenged and ridiculed.
Things abhorred a generation ago are now inscribed in the statute books of
society! These are issues of the utmost gravity to which a simple answer
cannot be given; neither are they answered by being ignored. Matters of
such magnitude demand the fullest attention of our Christian conscience.”

Today, at a distance of 25 years, we need to reflect on those words. In so
many areas of life “the most fundamental principles of our Christian life”
are not only questioned, but ridiculed and threatened with sanction.
Individualism has come to predominate, the growth in the quest for
individual rights taking precedence over what is right. These trends bring
many challenges, they include:

The Sacredness of Life: Babies continue to be aborted, foetuses are
experimented upon, and life itself is considered a mere commodity, while
calls are openly made to legalise euthanasia - the killing of the elderly
and the sick.

The Family: Not only is the natural and fundamental union of man and woman
in marriage questioned as to its uniqueness, but as an institution it has
been downgraded by legislation which has accorded equal rights to unmarried
and same sex unions.

Education: Repeated attacks are made on our Catholic schools unjustly
accusing them of fostering sectarianism and discriminating against others,
and calling for their abolition.

Freedom of conscience: In recent months legislation has been introduced
which contradicts the right of Catholic agencies to work with a coherent
Christian ethic in many fields including adoption.

The list of challenges facing the Catholic community in 2007 is enormous.
It would be easy to become discouraged. To do so, however, would be a
profoundly unchristian response. It is not an option for us to flee from
the world. Vatican II reminded us of the Church’s necessary role at the
heart of the world, sharing its joys and hopes and acting as the yeast of
the society in which we live (cf audium et Spes 4).

We cannot retreat to a ghetto. We cannot abandon public life. We cannot
keep silent in the face of injustice or immorality. Neither can we surrender
to the spirit of the age or conform to the model secular humanism would
impose upon us.

Once more we can find words of prophetic encouragement from the late Pope’s
message delivered 25 years ago:

“To provide the answers to [today’s] questions is a daunting task. It would
be an impossible challenge for the majority of the faithful to attempt
unaided. But you are not alone. The Spirit of God is operative in the
Church.
Never before as in recent years has the teaching of the Catholic Church been
so extensively reformulated, precisely with the issues that trouble the
modern conscience in mind… I assure you that we are acutely aware of the
problems you have to face in life, and of the anxiety which so often fills
your hearts.”

“Your commitment to the sure ways of Christian living could well be decisive
in bringing salvation to many. The world still recognizes genuine goodness
for what it is!”

With such words the late Holy Father encouraged us to draw inspiration from
the past and embrace again the fundamental practices of the faith in facing
today’s challenges. That call we make our own today:

“Be loyal to the memory of those valiant forerunners in the Faith. Be
diligent in handing on intact the spiritual heritage committed to you. Be
faithful to your daily prayers, to the Holy Mass and the Sacrament of
Reconciliation, meeting regularly with Jesus as a loving and merciful
Saviour. Defend the sacredness of Life and the holiness of Matrimony.
Understand your holy Catholic faith and live by its teaching. Face up to
the difficult challenges of modern life with Christian fortitude and
patience.”

We cannot conclude these reflections without recalling the impact of the
Papal visit on the rest of the Christian community in Scotland. Indeed it
is in the ecumenical sphere that the visit had perhaps its greatest impact,
breaking down barriers and removing centuries-old suspicions.

Much of the progress made in inter-church relations in recent decades was
advanced enormously by the Holy Father’s memorable encouragement …
“We are only pilgrims on this earth, making our way towards that heavenly
Kingdom promised to us as God’s children. Beloved brethren in Christ, for
the future, can we not make that pilgrimage together hand-in-hand,
“bearing with one another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness
and patience,” doing all we can “to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the
peace that binds us together”? (Eph. 4, 2-3) This would surely bring down
upon us the blessing of God our Father on our pilgrim way.”

We invite our Christian brothers and sisters once again to join us
confidently in preaching the Gospel to the non-believers and the unchurched
of our land.

Dear brothers and sisters of the Catholic community, in recalling these
words of the Pope, we wish to do more than evoke feelings of nostalgia, or
recall with pride one of the greatest days in the history of the Church in
Scotland.
Rather we wish to draw inspiration and encouragement from the experience
which we lived through and recognise again the insight and wisdom in the
words spoken to us by Christ’s Vicar on earth.


With every good wish and blessing


+Cardinal Keith Patrick O’Brien +Archbishop Mario Conti
+Bishop Vincent Logan +Bishop Joseph Devine
+Bishop Ian Murray +Bishop John Cunningham
+Bishop Peter Moran +Bishop Philip Tartaglia