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UNITED KINGDOM: Pakistan bishop opens new Aid to the Church in Need office in Scotland
By John Pontifex
Aid to the Church in Need Scottish administrator Dermot Lamb (left) assists Bishop Joseph Devine of Motherwell (centre) and Bishop Joseph Coutts of Faisalabad in Pakistan as they bless the charity's new Scottish office
Aid to the Church in Need’s new office in Scotland has been officially opened and blessed in a service of special significance for persecuted and other suffering Christians.
Dermot Lamb, the charity’s newly-appointed Scottish administrator, welcomed friends and benefactors of the Aid to the Church in Need on Tuesday, 13th October to the new office in Scott Street, Motherwell.
In the presence of Tom Curley, Provost of North Lanarkshire, the office was blessed by Bishop Joseph Devine of Motherwell and Bishop Joseph Coutts who had flown in from Pakistan to take part in the proceedings.
During a brief address, Bishop Coutts, who is Bishop of Faisalabad in Pakistan’s Punjab province, said: “The opening of this new office is very reassuring to those of us who suffer as Christians.
“It is an indication of your generosity; it is a sign of your willingness to do more.
“I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the various ways in which Aid to the Church in Need in Scotland is helping us.”
Describing Aid to the Church in Need as “a wonderful, wonderful charity,” Bishop Devine said: “I cannot believe the amount you provide to help the suffering Church. Very best wishes to Aid to the Church in Need in the years to come.”
Aid to the Church in Need UK National Director Neville Kyrke-Smith paid tribute to the “compassion and prayer” of Scottish benefactors who over many years had helped the charity to grow.
Offering thanks to Father Paul Morton, a trustee of the charity, and his parish of St Bride’s, Cambuslang, near Glasgow, Mr Kyrke-Smith encouraged Scottish supporters of the charity to continue their work for the suffering Church.
Other key figures present included Dr John Watts, Aid to the Church in Need’s Scottish Secretary, who gave a brief meditation on the importance of the charity’s work.
Dr Watts continues his work leading a team who give talks and appeals in support of Aid to the Church in Need.
Tuesday’s event attracted wide media coverage including STV and BBC Scotland, as well as Catholic publications the Scottish Catholic Observer and Flourish, along with local media.
Reporters interviewed pop singer Bobby Frank, a Christian from Pakistan who is seeking asylum in the United Kingdom.
Mr Frank fled Pakistan after receiving death threats for revealing a tattoo of a cross on his arm in a pop video.
Watch STV’s coverage of Aid to the Church in Need’s Scottish Office blessing