Newsletter

Second Sunday of Lent

March 1st 2026

 

A Pastoral Letter from the Bishops of Scotland

 

Scotland stands at a moment of profound moral consequence, In the coming weeks, the Scottish Parliament will cast its final vote on the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill; legislation that would, for the first time in our nation’s history, permit physician assisted suicide. As your shepherds, entrusted with the care of souls and the protection of human dignity, we write to you with deep concern. True compassion is not found in hastening death, but in walking with those who suffer, ensuring they receive the medical, emotional and spiritual care that affirms their inherent worth. Every person, regardless of age, illness, disability or circumstance, is a gift from God. There is no such thing as a life without value. Our task as a society is not to eliminate suffering by eliminating the sufferer, bur to surround every individual with love, support and dignity until their natural end.

 

Over recent months, several members of the Scottish Parliament, who once supported the proposal, have now either withdrawn, or are seriously considering withdrawing their backing, recognising that the risks embedded within it are too grave to ignore. Their change of heart reflects a dawning awareness that coercion, especially the subtle, hidden coercion experienced by the most vulnerable, including the elderly, the sick, the disabled and those living with domestic abuse, cannot be reliably detected, let alone prevented.

 

Key protections that should form the very foundation of such legislation, however flawed the principle may be, have been removed or rejected. Proposals for mandatory training for doctors to recognise coercive control were voted down by the Parliament Health and Social Care Committee. Measures ensuring that patients are offered proper palliative and social care before considering assisted suicide were dismissed. An opt-out for hospices and care homes who object to assisted suicide was also rejected. Even the conscience rights of healthcare workers remain uncertain.  As a result, MSPs are being asked to vote on a Bill that is incomplete and reliant on future intervention from Westminster – an arrangement that several parliamentarians have already described as unworkable and irresponsible.

 

Experience from abroad also offers a sober warning. In countries where assisted suicide has been introduced, narrow criteria have widened over time, placing ever more people at risk – not because of unbearable physical suffering, but because they feel abandoned, isolated or burdensome. We must not allow such a trajectory to take root here in Scotland. We therefore urge you, the Catholic faithful of Scotland, to act. Please contact your MSPs and respectfully ask them to oppose this legislation. Make your voice heard in defence of those who may not be able to speak for themselves. Resources to assist you, including Care Not Killing’s online email tool, are available and we invite you to use them prayerfully and thoughtfully.

 

Let us also hold in prayer all those approaching the end of life, all who care for them, and all charged with shaping the laws of our land. May the Holy Spirit grant our nation the wisdom to choose the path of life, compassion and genuine human solidarity.

Yours devotedly in Christ,

+John Keenan, +Brian McGee, +Andrew McKenzie, +Leo Cushley, +William Nolan,

+Joseph Toal, +Hugh Gilbert, +Francis Dougan

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Schedule for the Daily Liturgy:

 

Monday March 2nd: Mass at 10am

Rosary at 9,40am; confessions at 6.30pm; Novena at 7pm

 

Tuesday March 3rd: Requiem for Janet Brown at 10am

 

Wednesday March 4th: Requiem for Tom Wilson at 10am; Reception on Tuesday at 6pm

 

Thursday March 5th: Requiem for Robert Burns at 10am

 

Friday March 6th Mass at 10am

Stations of the Cross at 9.40am                                    

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The church’s daily liturgy is a wonderful way of making the Lenten journey in the company of others; the daily Eucharist offers us the opportunity to contemplate the great mystery of Christ day by day; we can be a source of encouragement to one another. Please join us if you are free.

 

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Parish Pastoral Council meets this Wednesday at 7pm; your comments and suggestions are very welcome; please speak to one of the Council members or email PPC1846@hotmail.com or put a comment in the box at the back of the church.

 

RCIA: please remember our six candidates in your prayers, Hannah, Yvonne. Reece, Paul, Robert and Andrew. Last Sunday afternoon 120 men and women gathered with Bishop Toal in the Cathedral for the Rite of Elect, an important step in becoming a member of the Catholic Church. We meet as usual on Thursday at 7pm.

 

Coffee Morning, Sunday 1st March: please join us for coffee/tea, toast and home baking after the morning Masses: there will be a small selection of Fairtrade food and crafts on sale as well as Fairtrade Eater Eggs,

 

Recently Deceased: Janet Brown, Tom Wilson, Robert Taylor Burns, Sadie Green, Michael Cassidy, Bernadette Boyle, Colin Louden, Catherine Collins, James Cassidy, Geraldine McAuley

 

Special Remembrance: Eilidh McHugh, Gerard Falsey, Sheena Bogan, Robert Bogan, Frank Docherty, Thomas McKain, Bobby Jones, John Jones, John Francis Moore, Annie and Tommy Grubb, and our relatives and friends and all the benefactors of our parish.

 

Diocese of Motherwell Website:

for good and reliable information about events across our Diocese

please consult www.rcdom.org.uk