Scottish Catholic Observer

On Monday, April 1, Justice and Peace Scotland, a commission of the Bishops’ Conference, recognised their anniversary with a tree-planting ceremony at Carfin Grotto in Motherwell Diocese that aimed to highlight the threat of climate change.

At Scotland’s national shrine, Bishop William Nolan, president of Justice and Peace Scotland, helped plant eight trees in the grounds behind the statue of St Andrew, representing all Scottish dioceses.

Four of the trees were Juniper representing ‘Justice’ and the other four were Pine representing ‘Peace.’

Bishop Nolan, said: “Any of the people who are involved in Justice and Peace, particularly the ones who have been involved for many years, have shown real dedication, which is very impressive.

“Whether it is going to Dungavel to campaign for asylum seekers rights, or going to Faslane to highlight peace issues, those are issues that you have to persevere with.

“So people in Justice and Peace have shown remarkable perseverance over the years on these types of issues.”

Bishop Nolan added: “The Catholic Church in Scotland has been blessed these past 40 years by having so many people committed to the work of Justice and Peace.

“The trees that we plant at the National Shrine in Carfin not only honour them and the work they have done, but as they grow the trees will remind us of the ever present urgency to show the same commitment and to pursue justice for all and peace in our world.

“Obviously we place a great emphasis in ‘care for our common home’ like the Pope says in Laudato Si.

“It is therefore very appropriate to plant something in the ground that will flourish and grow with permanence, just as this commission has over the last four decades.”

Care for the planet

Bishop Nolan also said that the encyclical by Pope Francis reminds us that as Catholics we have a responsibility to care for the whole planet.

“Recently the Pope’s encyclical Laudato Si has highlighted the Church’s responsibility to care for the environment because it’s not just for their exclusive use, it’s there for everybody, not just this generation but future generations to come,” Bishop Nolan said.

“So we have a responsibility towards the future as well as the present and the fact that what we do here actually affects people thousands of miles away.”

‘Light of the gospel’

Honor Hania, chair of Justice and Peace Scotland, said: “As the Vatican Council said, ‘the Church has always had the duty of scrutinising the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel.’

“In other words, to look at our world and its problems, and interpret them through the lens of Faith. That is what Justice and Peace Scotland has been striving to do for 40 years.

“Nuclear weapons, poverty, asylum seekers, peace-making, refugees, have all been part of our work over those years, and we continue to examine these important issues.

“At the moment we are focussing on the environment and Pope Francis’s call in Laudato Si to care for our common home.”

Children from Catholic primary schools also took part in the Mass and tree-planting.