Scottish Catholic Observer

More than 700 pupils from almost 50 secondary schools and parishes across Scotland have signed up to participate in the Pope Benedict XVI Caritas Awards, which recognise the achievements and Faith formation of young people in their final year at secondary school.

The awards were launched by the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland in conjunction with the Scottish Catholic Education Service in the summer to build on the legacy of the Papal visit to Scotland and England last year and is open to students from Catholic and non Catholic schools.

Pupils have already begun working towards the award, both in their schools and their parishes.

Three-part programme

Barbara Campbell, religious education adviser for secondary schools in Glasgow Archdiocese and Motherwell Diocese, said that the Caritas Awards focus on ‘three distinctive but interwoven elements: Faith witness, Faith learning and Faith reflection.’

“The award is just one of the ways in which the legacy of the 2010 visit of Pope Benedict to the UK is being marked and kept alive here in Scotland,” Ms Campbell said. “It gives a unique experience for young people who want to embrace Pope Benedict’s words to them: ‘the Church now belongs to you.’”

Ms Campbell was speaking at the launch of This Is Our Faith, the Church’s new syllabus for religious education in Scotland’s Catholic schools.

Student affirmations

A last week’s syllabus launch, the Scottish Catholic hierarchy and invited guests heard from Molly Loftus and Martha McLean, two senior pupils from Edinburgh’s St Augustine’s High School, who spoke about their own participation in the Caritas Awards and how they have been working to achieve the award both at school and in their parishes.

Martha said that, within the school, they have already raised more than £500 for charity.

“We also mentor younger pupils and help them with class work in some of their classes,” she added.

In their respective parishes, both girls are working on a project, which aims to highlight how the Church can help homeless people in society as well as focusing on ecological and environmental issues.

“The Caritas Award gives recognition to young people from all over Scotland who are living lives of Faith and working for others,” Molly said.

“The main reason we wanted to take part in the Caritas Awards is because we were both already interested in becoming more involved with the Church and helping in the community,” she said. “When the idea of the Caritas Awards was introduced to us, we both felt we should do more within our parishes and the school and this was a way for us to become more involved with our spirituality and our Faith. So far, we have found the experience very positive.”

Papal approval

Cardinal Keith O’Brien, president of the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, said that the Caritas Awards, like the This Is Our Faith syllabus, had received the seal of approval from the Holy See.

PIC: Paul McSherry

The cardinal said that Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, had accepted the request from the Scottish bishops to use the title: Pope Benedict XVI Caritas Awards, recognising ‘the value these particular awards have in helping young people, not just in the knowledge of their Faith, but in the practical implementation of their Faith in various ways.’

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Pic: Paul McSherry