Scottish Catholic Observer

Scotland’s Catholic school pupils will rally at Carfin Grotto this summer to stand in solidarity with persecuted Christians.

The youth rally is being organised by the Scottish office of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) and is the second such event, following on from the inaugural gathering last year which brought more than 1000 pupils together at Carfin.

Bishop John Keenan of Paisley and Bishop Joseph Toal of Motherwell will be in attendance at the June 16 event, as will an as yet unconfirmed speaker with firsthand knowledge of Christian persecution. The focus of the day will be to raise awareness and encourage those attending to pray, spread information and take action in support of the persecuted Church.

ACN is calling upon attendees to show the Scottish Government that young people care about the right to religious freedom. Each school taking part will invite students to petition the Scottish Government to promote religious freedom around the world, calling on the government to ‘stand with ACN Scotland in promoting religious freedom’ through prayer, solidarity, and interfaith dialogue.

“ACN Scotland are very excited to be holding our second youth rally,” Lorraine McMahon, ACN’s head of operations in Scotland, said. “The rally is an opportunity for the youth of this country to stand up and be counted and say we will not sit back as Daesh [ISIS] eradicate Christianity and other minority groups from the Middle East. Come and join us in June to learn about the forgotten human rights issue of the day.”

Last year’s rally was welcomed by Pope Francis, who sent a message to the young people taking part ensuring them of his ‘spiritual closeness to them as they seek to grow and be renewed in their Faith in… solidarity with all Christians who suffer persecution throughout the world.’

Humza Yousaf, Scottish government minister for Europe and International Development, was among the speakers on the day and told those gathered in the grotto that he accepted ACN’s invitation to speak at the rally because ‘for me, as a Muslim, I wouldn’t be able to be a Muslim actually if its wasn’t for the kindness of Christians.’

ACN works in 130 countries, helping Christians who are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need. According to the International Society for Human Rights, 80 per cent of all religious persecution in the world is directed at Christians.

Schools must register in order to attend the June rally and registration needs to be completed online at: www.acnuk.org/events.php/421/youthrally2016

Registration closes on Friday June 3 2016. Those unable to attend the event will be able to follow the rally via Twitter @ACN_Scotland and using #ACNYouthRally.

—For more information, contact Michael J Robinson, ACN communication executive in Scotland, on 01698 337 472 or 07908 033878.

—[email protected]

—This story ran in full in the May 6 edition print of the SCO, available in parishes.