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The Bishops' Conference of Scotland

Pope Francis RIP


17th December 1936 – 21st April 2025

May he rest in peace


Message of Bishop Keenan President of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland

It was with deep sadness that we woke to the news that Pope Francis has died and we share in the sense of loss of millions of people across the world. It is a consolation to us that he went to the LORD on Easter Monday and the great Easter Day as a sort of first fruits of the salvation which the Risen Christ shares with His Church.

We thank GOD for the Pope’s service which was always human and humble in its informal style and with a message of GOD’s universal love and unconditional mercy that brought hope to so many.

A man of the poor who lived simply, Pope Francis was a voice for the voiceless and all those who find themselves on the margins in our world. A man of peace, he called the Church to listen to everyone, to move forward together as a family, to find a conciliatory approach to those of different beliefs and lifestyles, for an end to conflicts across the world and for the care of Creation as GOD’s precious gift to humanity.

He gave of himself to the end, offering up his final illness with serenity, his last acts being to visit Rome’s prison on Holy Thursday and to wish the crowds gathered in Saint Peter’s a Happy Easter.

We pray he will be enjoying the full fruits of the Resurrection, resting from his work, his good deeds going with him.
May he rest in peace.
Bishop John Keenan

Read the Pastoral Letter on Assisted Suicide - National Day of Prayer - April 2025

Pastoral Letter on Assisted Suicide - National Day of Prayer - April 2025 Click to open

The Roman Catholic Bishops in Scotland work together to undertake nationwide initiatives through their Commissions and Agencies.

The members of the Bishops' Conference are the Bishops of the eight Scottish Dioceses. Where appropriate the Bishops Emeriti (retired) provide a much welcomed contribution to the work of the conference. The Bishops' Conference of Scotland is a permanently constituted assembly which meets regularly throughout the year to address relevant business matters.

Members of The Bishops' Conference of Scotland

https://www.holyyear2025.org.uk

Click here to visit the Jubilee 2025 website

The Jubilee Prayer

Father in heaven,
may the faith you have given us
in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,
and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of your Kingdom.

May your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.
May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth,
when, with the powers of Evil vanquished,
your glory will shine eternally.

May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, a yearning for the treasures of heaven. May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth. 

To you our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise for ever.

Amen

News from the Commissions and Agencies

March 2025
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-john-ogilvie/
Feast of St John Ogilvie


A convert from Calvinism, Saint John Ogilvie joined the Jesuits and was ordained to the priesthood. Doing secret ministry in Scotland, John was arrested and tortured for a number of days before being martyred on March 10, 1615.
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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-03/pope-francis-health-update-sunday-pneumonia.html


Pope Francis continues to gradually improve as he recovers from bilateral pneumonia at Rome's Gemelli Hospital, according to the Holy See Press Office ...
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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-03/pope-francis-resting-following-a-calm-night.html


Pope Francis continues to rest on Sunday morning, 9 March, following a peaceful night. The medical update yesterday evening reported that his clinical ...
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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2025-03/lord-s-day-reflection-responding-to-temptation-with-prayer.html


As the Church celebrates the Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Fr Edmund Power reflects on the power of prayer in response to temptation.
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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-03/pope-francis-pilgrimage-italy-movement-life-abortion.html


Pope Francis sends a message to a pilgrimage of the Italian Movement for Life, and calls on Christians to take the side of unborn children, whom he ...
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✨HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY✨

💬Tell us in the comments... What Catholic women inspire you and why?

🕊️ We'll start with Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement and the embodiment of what it means to live out the call to Catholic justice and peace.

She was a woman deeply committed to sharing her understanding of God’s love with the world. Her work emerged from a commitment grounded in Catholic liturgy, characterised by charity and advocacy. Day’s commitment to amplifying her voice, as well as those surrounding her, was clear in her writing and ministry. Day lived out her reading of scripture by digging at the heels of injustice through peaceful protest and demonstrating her compassion and her refusal to be silenced. Though gentle in her treatment of others, there was nothing gentle about her advocacy for change. May her words inspire us to be agents of God's love, justice and peace in the world:

"What we would like to do is change the world - make it a little simpler for people to feed, clothe, and shelter themselves as God intended them to do. And by fighting for better conditions, by crying out unceasingly for the rights of the workers, the poor, of the destitute - the rights of the worthy and the unworthy poor, in other words - we can, to a certain extent, change the world."

📸Photo credit - Vivian Cherry

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-03/pope-francis-morning-health-update-stable.html


Pope Francis had a good night and continues to rest, according to the Holy See Press Office on Saturday morning.
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On this day we pray for all those who have suffered abuse in the Church. We pray for healing, peace and justice 🙏we pledge that this evil in our midst will be overcome.

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-03/pope-francis-message-hospital-st-peter-s-square-rosary-thanks.html


Pope Francis sends a message of gratitude and closeness to all those who have been praying for his recovery since he was admitted to hospital 21 days ...
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