Scottish Catholic Observer

Looking ahead to Rio de Janeiro, geography and economics come into play. No, this is not a reference to Rio 2016 when the world’s athletes will come together for the next Olympic Games, although this is one of the reasons for the current buzz about the Brazilian capital as the Olympic Flames was extinguished in London last weekend.

In less than a year, Rio will host World Youth Day 2013, when the world’s young Catholics will once again get the opportunity to give public witness, and to grow in their Faith, not forgetting their chance to attend Mass celebrated by the Holy Father.

Now if Madrid seems just like yesterday, there has been no mistake. The next World Youth Day is being held a year earlier than normal, from July 23-28 next year, to avoid a clash with Rio’s commitments to the football World Cup in 2014.

On the topic of economics and geography, it is fantastic that the Catholic Youth Service Scotland and the Church in this country are giving young Catholics an alternative to making the trip to Brazil. While those who can make the trip to Rio will no doubt go, the four-day event—to be known as Scotland’s Rio—at Stirling University to coincide with WYD in Brazil is such a welcome idea.

Born from the realisation in 2008 that WYD in Sydney, Australia, was out of the reach of many young Scottish Catholics, the Scottish event for 2013 is designed to offer participants some of the key elements of going on a World Youth Day pilgrimage: the community spirit, the camaraderie, the Catechism and the Mission Week experience Rio is offering instead of Days in the Diocese.

The CYSS initiative is to be applauded and, if the young people of Scotland get behind it wholeheartedly, it is destined to be a huge success.

The wealth of support for the closing Mass in Bothwell of the Poor Clares’ 800th anniversary was a testament to the bonds between order and community, and religious and diocese in Scotland. To see so many members of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, both retired and active, meet together with priests and religious for the celebration in Motherwell Diocese was a reminder that we are all interconnected.

News that the appeal of the Scottish midwives opposed to supervising abortion procedures is to be heard in January is a timely reminder that the rights of those with Christian values—in this case a pro-life conscientious objections—are indeed being eroded in this country. This was confirmed when the original Court of Session ruling went against NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Midwifery sisters Mary Doogan and Concepta Wood earlier this year. They are continuing their fight with the help of SPUC and our prayers.