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SCOTLAND:"Stand up and witness to the Gospel" says Bishop Toal
By John Pontifex
Bishop Joseph Toal of Argyll and the Isles, who paid tribute to the heroic witness of Christian martyrs during his homily at a memorial Mass for Aid to the Church in Need's founder
Christians both in the free world and in places of persecution must stand up in the face of opposition and witness to their unchanging beliefs – according to a Scottish bishop speaking at a Mass for Christians who suffer today.
Bishop Joseph Toal of Argyll and the Isles said that Christians today were called to be "heroic" and oppose trends in society contrary to the Church's message.
The bishop was speaking at the annual Scottish memorial Mass for Father Werenfried van Straaten, founder of Aid to the Church in Need, which supports persecuted and other suffering Christians in 140 countries around the world.
During his homily, Bishop Toal paid tribute to the heroic witness of Christian martyrs before adding: "Christianity is also being challenged in the free world and sometimes today we have to stand up against some trends in society.
"We have to be brave – we have to stand up and witness to the unchanging message of the Gospel."
The bishop's comments were widely seen both as a reference to ongoing persecution against Christians overseas as well as the Scottish Catholic bishops' opposition to Government plans in Scotland – now out to consultation – to legalise marriage between homosexuals.
Bishop Toal was speaking on Wednesday 9 November at Saint Bride's Church, Cambuslang, near Glasgow, where for more than a decade parishioners have raised money for Aid to the Church in Need.
The bishop praised the work of Aid to the Church in Need, which was founded on Christmas Day 1947 by Father Werenfried van Straaten who began by calling on the faithful in Belgium to support displaced and other suffering people from nearby Germany.
Referring to the founder of Aid to the Church in Need's work to support persecuted Christians, Bishop Toal said: "Father Werenfried was concerned most of all to protect the Catholic faith of those who had suffered loss of home or country and those deprived of religious freedom.
"That commitment to offering spiritual as well as material aid does make Aid to the Church in Need different from other agencies."
Describing Aid to the Church in Need's project focus including the training of priests and construction of churches, he paid particular tribute to the charity's support for priests who "carry out their priestly duties in difficult circumstances, perhaps involving a great deal of heroism and sacrifice on their part."
Referring to the growth of the charity which now supports more than 5,000 projects every year, Bishop Toal said: "Aid to the Church in Need has brought new hope to so many places and especially where Christians are suffering and live in difficult circumstances."
Listening to the bishop were the charity's supporters from across Scotland as well as students from Saint Ambrose High School, Coatbridge, and Cardinal Newman High School, Bellshill.
Aid to the Church in Need's UK director Neville Kyrke-Smith said afterwards: "The Mass with Bishop Toal was a great celebration of faith.
"There were a good number of very supportive priests and generous supporters of the charity who are unsung heroes of faith, helping to carry the cross of the suffering Church in many parts of the world."
The charity's head of operations in Scotland, Lorraine McMahon, said: "We had a good mixture of the generations present – young as well as old – and they were all encouraged by the bishop's message to stand up and be counted for what we all believe."
She also paid tribute to parishes supporting Aid to the Church in Need including Father Gerry Chromy and parishioners of Saint Patrick's Church, Wishaw, which has supported seminarians in Grodno, Belarus.
Over the last decade and more, Father Paul Morton and Saint Bride's Church, Cambuslang, have supported Aid to the Church in Need projects in 10 countries including Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Vietnam, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Sudan.
Saint Bride's is now funding new roofs for chapels in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, in the Bay of Bengal, and a new parish centre in Romania.