Scottish Catholic Observer

One million Catholics in England and Wales are to be given faith cards as ‘a daily reminder of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.’

The Church hierarchy are printing one million cards—equal to the number of people that attend Mass on Sundays—which is the first time the Catholic Church in England and Wales has encouraged parishioners to carry cards declaring their faith.

Year of Faith initiative

The card-carrying initiative follows Pope Benedict XVI’s announcement of a Year of Faith, which will begin later this year, during which Catholics are encouraged to do more to spread the Word of God.

During his visit to the UK in 2010, the Pope said that the Church fears worshippers are being forced to keep their beliefs a private act against their consciences in an increasingly secular Europe.

Bishop Kieran Conry of Brighton and Arundel, chairman of the Bishops’ Department for Evangelisation and Catechesis, said that the faith card ‘aims to offer a daily reminder of what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.’

“We can’t summarise the whole of our Faith in bullet points, but we hope that the card simply inspires people to do, read and learn more,” Bishop Conry said.

“The card is also designed to give Catholics confidence to share their Faith—often people need help knowing what to say. Faith is not a private matter. This is something that Pope Benedict reminded the Catholic community in his recent letter announcing a Year of Faith, beginning in October 2012. Carrying a faith card takes courage, it signals to others, every time you use your wallet or purse, that you believe in God, that your life has a purpose, that you are trying to love and serve your neighbour. We hope that Catholics will use it to witness to their Faith. If someone asks a question about Catholicism, a starting point could be to show the card and to take it from there.”

Faith cards

One side of the card, designed to be carried in wallets or purses, has a space for the holder to sign his or her name and a ‘clear statement that the carrier is a Catholic’ alongside an image of a Crucifix.

It states that Catholics are called to ‘share with others the joy of knowing Jesus Christ,’ pray, celebrate the sacraments regularly, ‘love my neighbour as myself,’ ‘use the gifts that I’ve been given wisely’ and ‘forgive as I have been forgiven.’

The bottom of the card reads: “In the event of an emergency please contact a Catholic priest.”

On the reverse is the link to the church’s website, an image of Jesus and a quotation from Blessed John Henry Newman about the ‘definite service’ for which God created him.