On the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul it is customary for the Church to take up the collection for Peter’s Pence, the collection which funds the charitable activities of the Church around the world. As we have not as yet returned to the practice of public Mass, there will be an opportunity for parishioners to make an online contribution via the donation facility on the diocesan website – www.rcdom.org.uk. On clicking this button, the donor is taken to a donations page which has four specific charities, one of which will be Peter’s Pence. The page also offers the opportunity to make one-off or recurring donations, which can be gift-aided, to any of the parishes in the diocese also.

This Sunday the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul. On Sunday, the Bishop will celebrate the Lourdes Hospitalite Mass from Carfin at 3.00 pm, after which there will be Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament led by Fr Grant in the Glass Chapel. Both the Mass and Benediction will be live-screened.

The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland has released the following statement on the Scottish Government’s decision not to allow places of worship to open for communal worship until 23 July at the earliest: "The Scottish Government’s decision not to allow places of worship to open for communal worship until 23 July at the earliest, while allowing pubs, restaurants and cinemas to reopen on 15 July is both disappointing and perplexing. The Catholic Church has responded positively to government requests from the very beginning of lockdown and submitted detailed protocols for infection control and staged reopening to the Scottish Government over three weeks ago, without any objection from the governm

Bishops welcome Review Group’s Annual report. Friday 26 June 2020 The Second Annual Report of the Independent Review Group (IRG) monitoring the implementation of the recommendations of the McLellan Commission by the Catholic Church in Scotland has been welcomed by the Bishops’ Conference. The report, published on 26 June is available at: https://www.bcos.org.uk/Portals/0/Documents/IRG%20Report%20June%202020.pdf Commenting on the publication, Bishop Joseph Toal, President of the Commission for Pastoral and Social Care said;��“On behalf of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, I thank the IRG for their work and welcome the publication of their second annual report, which will be given careful c

This Sunday (21 June), Christians across Scotland will once again join together in prayer at 7pm in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As with previous weeks during lockdown and the phased easing of restrictions, 14 Christian churches and organisations across the country, including the Church of Scotland, have co-signed the letter calling for prayer. Scottish Christians have been continuing to answer the call to pray at the same time each week, and Rt Rev Dr Martin Fair, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, has been taking part alongside them. "I’m delighted to have read that in the last couple of months online searches for ‘prayer’ have increased dramatically,” Dr Fa

Holy Mass will be broadcast this Sunday, 21st June, at 12noon on BBC Scotland from St Augustine's, Coatbridge. Please let others know, especially those without internet who will benefit from this.

To celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Bishop Toal will offer Holy Mass at 11am on Friday 19th June live on the Motherwell Diocese Facebook. This day is also a Day of Sanctification for Priests when we are invited to pray in a special way for all of our priests.

The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland has welcomed the announcement by the Scottish Government that from Monday 22 June, churches may reopen for private prayer. Commenting on the announcement, the President of the Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Hugh Gilbert said; “We welcome the decision to reopen churches and look forward to the gradual resumption of church life, while recognising that not all parishes may be able to reopen immediately. In anticipation of these changes the Bishops’ Conference convened an “Infection Control Working Group” chaired by Sir Harry Burns. This group has published a series of documents which will govern the safe reopening of our parishes.” Bishop Gilbert added; “We

The Immigration Bill currently before parliament will drastically alter people’s opportunities to build their lives here and contribute to our society. The UK’s Catholic population is made up of people from across the world including a significant number of European citizens. Around 60% of Europeans living in the UK are Catholics. We therefore recognise the profound impact that ending free movement will have on so many families and communities. While we do not agree with the principle of making European citizens apply for their existing rights in the UK, the Church is working to raise awareness of the Settlement Scheme and help those who are at risk of losing their status. However, no scheme

The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland has finalised its proposed infection control standards which will govern the reopening of parishes and confirmed that they have sent their guidelines to the Scottish Government. Commenting on the progress being made towards parish reopening, the President of the Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Hugh Gilbert, said; “A great deal of work has been done to provide guidance and support to clergy as they prepare for the phased reopening of our parishes. The guidelines have been prepared to reflect advice given in the Scottish Government’s Route Map on the gradual removal of restrictions. The Bishops’ Conference continue to engage with the Scottish Government and