Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Pastoral Letter”
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Scotland stands at a moment of profound moral consequence. In the coming weeks, the Scottish Parliament will cast its final vote on the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill; legislation that would, for the first time in our nation’s history, permit physician‑assisted suicide. As your shepherds, entrusted with the care of souls and the …
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross Dear Brothers and Sisters, Salva me bona crux! Save me, good cross! According to tradition, this is the dying prayer of St Andrew. He said these words as he prepared to give his life for his faith in Jesus. But in the Roman world, the cross was anything but “good.” It was a cruelinstrument of …
On behalf of the Bishops of Scotland, Bishop Frank Doogan has issued the following Pastoral Letter to be read in all parishes on Sunday 1st June, 2025. “Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19) Dear Brothers and Sisters, As we come to the end of our Easter season, those final words of Christ should be the words that …
In the parable of the Vine and the Branches, Jesus teaches us that we are one community, one family and one society. We live in a world where any one of our decisions affects all of us. We are all brothers and sisters with responsibility to each other. Living out our responsibilities for each other in our families, many of …
My dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, We are the most fortunate of people because we have faith in Jesus Christ. I constantly meet people who tell me that at times of crisis, of difficulty, of darkness, it was their faith that gave them an inner strength and enabled them to survive and come through to the other side. This …
TO ALL PRIESTS, DEACONS, RELIGIOUS AND PEOPLE OF THE DIOCESE OF DUNKELD28th December 2022 Feast of the Holy Innocents Dear brothers and sisters,Very recently I received from Archbishop Gugerotti, the Papal Nuncio, a letter from Pope Francis stating that he had accepted my resignation as Bishop of Dunkeld under Canon 401, para 2, on grounds of failing health. In his own covering letter, the Nuncio …
Every year we begin the new year by praying for justice and for peace. And each year it seems that justice and peace are beyond our grasp, yet ever more necessary than the year before. As we look around us, we see a world where justice and peace are an elusive dream for so many but not a reality. Looking at …
REPENT AND BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL! A few weeks ago, on the first Sunday in Ordinary Time, following as we are this Liturgical Year the gospel of Saint Mark, we heard the story of the Baptism of Jesus. Jesus was baptised in the River Jordan by John, and when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the …