Scotland is to be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the first time.
The act of consecration will be carried out by the country’s bishops at the national Marian shrine at Carfin on September 3.
Bishop John Keenan of Paisley asked Catholics to take part in 40 days of spiritual preparation for the event.
On his Facebook page he wrote: “I shall be doing it daily and warmly invite every one of you to join me.
“The consecration depends on fervent national preparation. Please share (I rarely ask this but this is important).”
The Forty Days’ preparation, available on the bishop’s Facebook page, involves a different prayer or penance each day.
This year, the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Mary at Fatima, has seen a flurry of national consecrations to the Immaculate Heart.
In June Polish bishops and politicians consecrated the country’s Church to the Immaculate Heart. In February Cardinal Vincent Nichols re-consecrated England and Wales. (The original consecration was made in 1948 by Cardinal Bernard Griffin, the then archbishop of Westminster.)
Cardinal Bechara Boutros Rai, the leader of the Maronite Catholic Church, consecrated the entire Middle East to the Immaculate Heart in June. The devotion is central to Fatima. Our Lady reportedly told the seers that God “wants to establish in the world the devotion to my Immaculate Heart”.
In 2005 Benedict XVI said: “The heart that resembles that of Christ more than any other is without a doubt the Heart of Mary, his Immaculate Mother, and for this very reason the liturgy holds them up together for our veneration.”
CES head: Catholic schools do not promote segregation
The Catholic Education Service (CES) has criticised Ofsted chief Amanda Spielman for suggesting that scrapping the cap on admissions to faith schools could lead to more segregation.
The chief inspector of schools told the Sunday Times: “Admission 100 per cent on faith leads to increased levels of segregation within communities. I am uncomfortable with anything that leads to increased segregation.”
But Paul Barber, director of the CES, said: “Existing Catholic schools, which are not subject to an admissions cap, are the most ethnically diverse in the country and educate nearly a quarter of a million non-Catholics.”
The cap means free schools can only choose half their pupils on the basis of their faith. The Church has therefore opened no free schools, as it would be forced to turn away Catholic pupils for being Catholic, which is prohibited under canon law.
“All the cap achieved was to bar the Catholic Church from opening new schools,” Bishop Alan Hopes of East Anglia wrote in June, when the proposal to scrap the 50 per cent cap – a Tory manifesto pledge – did not appear in the Queen’s Speech.
‘Mercy bus’ tours Scottish towns
A Stagecoach bus is due to become a “church on wheels” in a six-day tour of Scottish towns this week.
The bus, donated by Stagecoach chairman Sir Brian Souter, follows a similar “mercy bus” that toured northern England last year. Bishop John Keenan will celebrate Mass on board the bus in Paisley tomorrow at 2pm.
Areas of Catholic Herald business are still recovering post-pandemic.
However, we are reaching out to the Catholic community and readership, that has been so loyal to the Catholic Herald. Please join us on our 135 year mission by supporting us.
We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching.
We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values. Please consider donating.