Scottish Catholic Observer

By Hugh Dougherty

It was known to generations of Catholics as MISSIO Scotland, the Church’s official mission charity in this country, but now, in this Year of Faith, the Scottish charity with a worldwide impact has had a make-over to give a new impetus to its work.

The newly renamed Mission Matters Scotland has a revamped website and logo. The Coatbridge-based national charity is launching its new identity, and it plans to raise and keep a high profile, throughout 2013 and well beyond. While there is a new image and approach to its work, Mission Matters Scotland’s message remains the same as it always has—pray a little and give a little—to ensure that the Church’s missionary work in areas such as Africa and India can continue effectively.

“Scotland has a proud record of missionary prayer, giving and activity, and we want to make sure that this continues,” Fr Tom Welsh, national director of Mission Matters Scotland, said of the changes.

“Many people will be amazed to hear that our small country ranks an astonishing eleventh in the world for giving to the missions. We want to keep up there and I know that many Catholics, both young and old, will dig deep, even during the current recession, just as they have always done, to keep money flowing to our missionaries. But we felt it was time to renew Missio, especially in this Year of Faith, with its emphasis on spreading the good news of the Gospel, so that we are even more able to do the work entrusted to us by the Vatican itself.”

That means a launch of the new logo and a calendar of activities and prayer initiatives over the coming year, all designed to raise awareness of the charity.

Mission Matters Scotland reports internationally to Rome, as a pontifical charity, and, locally, to the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland.

“We are delighted that Archbishop Philip Tartaglia, the conference president, is giving us his full backing in our mission to make the missions matter,” Fr Welsh said. “We also have practical support from the Scottish Catholic Education Service in our quest to reach out to young Catholics in schools, colleges and universities.”

— To learn more or to donate to Mission Matters Scotland, visit the charity’s new website: http://www.missionmattersscotland.org

—This story was reported in full in the January 25 print edition of the SCO