Scottish Catholic Observer

George McAleenan, national promoter of the Catholic Men’s Society, has said that, in the face of the growing secularisation of society, we must play our part in ensuring the message of Christ is not lost at Christmas time.

“Once again I am promoting the use of Keep Christ in Christmas stickers, which can be used on all our correspondence leading up to Christmas,” Mr McAleenan, who has organised the campaign for the last three years, said. “We ought not to allow the secularists to push Christianity to the margins or to shove it off the page entirely. They wish to create a society where the message of Christ is silenced.”

Mr McAleenan highlighted that the BBC had this year discouraged the use of Anno Domini and Before Christ for fear of offending Christians, while it also recently emerged that the Scottish Government had excluded Christmas in their promotion of ‘Winter festivals,’ which included St Andrew’s Day, Hogmanay and Burns Night.

“It is about time we stood up to these attacks,” Mr McAleenan said. “We can do this simply by reminding ourselves and others of the true meaning of Christmas.”

Mr McAleenan said that, last year, around 200,000 Keep Christ in Christmas stickers were sent out across the country but this year he is hoping for more parishes to promote the project.

“I would like more parishes to be involved and I hope that parish priests contact me to make orders for parishes,” he said.

—Keep Christ in Christmas stickers can be obtained for a donation of £1.50 plus postage per 100 by contacting Mr McAleenan at: George McAleenan, 81 Calder Road, Mossend, Bellshill, ML4 2RH or by e-mail at: [email protected]