SUBSCRIBE TO YOUR ONLY NATIONAL CATHOLIC NEWSPAPER SEE PAGE 24 FOR DETAILS No 5289 Cardinal O’Brien travels to Haiti with SCIAF Page One year on from earthquake disaster His Eminence visits country 3 No 5397 www.sconews.co.uk Friday January 7 2011 | 90p Egyptian bombing was a ‘vile gesture’ I Pope Benedict XVI condemns New Year’s Day bomb blast outside a Christian church in the country By Martin Dunlop POPE Benedict XVI has condemned a bomb blast outside a Christian church in Egypt that killed 23 people on New Year’s Day, calling it a ‘vile gesture.’ The Holy Father spoke out against the attack after his weekly Angelus blessing on Sunday January 2, the day after his World Day for Peace message called for religious freedom and tolerance that came in the wake of widespread violence against Christian minorities before and during the Christmas period. “This vile gesture of death, like that of putting bombs near to the houses of Christians in Iraq to force them to leave, offends God and all of human- ity,” the Holy Father said. He added that the attack was part of a ‘strategy of violence that targets Christians,’ and which has neg- ative repercussions on the entire population as well as offering prayers for the victims and their families. Bomb in Egypt The car bomb explosion, outside the Saints Coptic Christian Church in Alexandria in the first minutes of the New Year on Saturday, killed at least 23 peo- ple and injured almost 100 more as worshippers gathered to celebrate. The suspected suicide attack was the largest in a decade aimed at the country’s Coptic Orthodox Christians, who form 10 per cent of Egypt’s 79 mil- lion people, and led to protests and increased tension between Christians and Muslims in the country. Call for peace The attack in Egypt took place on the same day that the Holy Father gave his message for the 44th World Day for Peace—dedicated to religious free- dom and intolerance—in which he said Christians are the most persecuted religious group. A Coptic Orthodox woman cries during a January 3 The Pope deplored the ‘absurd’ violence in his of his predecessor Pope John Paul II when he con- “At present Christians are the religious group prayer service for her relatives who were victims of the Angelus address at the Vatican on St Stephen’s voked the first World Day of Prayer for Peace in which suffers most from persecution on account of New Year’s Day bombing outside an Orthodox church in Day. Assisi in 1986. its faith,” the Pope said. Alexandria, Egypt “It was with great sadness that I learnt about the “Whoever is making his way toward God cannot “Many Christians experience daily affronts and attack on a Catholic Church in the Philippines dur- fail to transmit peace, and whoever builds peace often live in fear because of their pursuit of truth, ing the celebrations for Christmas and also against cannot fail to draw nearer to God,” the Holy Father their faith in Jesus Christ and their heartfelt plea homes of Christians in Baghdad left two people Christian churches in Nigeria,” he said. said. for respect for religious freedom. dead and 13 more wounded. “The earth is once again stained with blood as “This situation is unacceptable, since it repre- The attacks were in an area of the city close to we have seen in other parts of the world.” I Extracts from the Pope’s Message for the sents an insult to God and to human dignity; fur- Our Lady of Salvation Church, where al-Qaeda mil- World Day for Peace, page 13 thermore it is a threat to security and peace.” itants laid siege in October, killing 68 worshippers. Hopes for summit The Pope also called on political leaders and all Thousands of Christians have since fled to The Pope also used his New Year’s Day message I Cardinal Keith O’Brien sees hope in the people of goodwill not to give up when faced with northern Iraq, fearing further attacks. to announce his plans to invite religious leaders darkness, page 3 ‘the negative force of egoism and violence’ and not Violence aimed at Christian minorities elsewhere from the world’s major faiths to gather in Assisi to to become jaded into thinking that conflict, which in the world also occurred during the Christmas ‘solemnly renew the commitment by believers of Bishop Peter Moran’s Justice and Peace puts lives and the future at risk, is inevitable. period. Six people were killed in attacks on church- every religion to live their religious faith as a serv- message, page 9 es in northern Nigeria on Christmas Eve and six ice to the cause of peace.’ Widespread violence people were wounded by a bomb in a Catholic He said that the interfaith gathering—to be held I Editorial, see page 10 The final days of 2010 saw further violence against Church on the island of Jolo in the Philippines dur- in October in the birthplace of St Francis—is to Christians in Iraq as bombs planted close to the ing the celebration of Christmas Day Mass. mark the 25th anniversary of the ‘historic gesture’ I [email protected] THE FOUNDER OF FIRST ANGLICAN ARCHBISHOP CONTI Mary’s Meals, bishops received and Celtic FC is recognised in into the Church manager Neil the New Year at Westminster Lennon pay tribute Honours List Cathedral to St Margaret’s Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 ANGLICAN CONVERTS CATHOLICS HONOURED CATHOLICS HOSPICE ANNIVERSARY visit www.sconews.co.uk SCO, 19 Waterloo Street, Glasgow G2 6BT I tel 0141 221 4956 I fax 0141 221 4546 e-mail [email protected] Of all the good deeds you do in your entire life, this just might be the best. Free cleft surgery which takes as little as 45 minutes and costs as little as £150, can give desperate children not just a new smile – but a new life. I want to give a child a second chance at life. £150 towards surgery for £30 towards medications for one child one surgery £75 could cover half the cost £ We’ll gratefully of one surgery accept any amount Mr/Mrs/Ms Address Postcode Email Telephone Charge my gift to my: Visa MasterCard Maestro Card No. Valid From Exp. Date Issue No. Signature My cheque is enclosed, made payable to The Smile Train UK. Send this coupon with your donation to: The SmileTrain UK, PO Box 909, Northampton NN3 0BF Use Gift Aid to increase your donation by 25% I YES, I would like Smile Train to claim Gift Aid on any donations that I have made within the last 4 years and all donations I make in the future until further notice. I confirm that I pay sufficient UK income/capital gains tax to cover any tax that Smile Train will reclaim from any donations that I make. I NO, I am not a UK taxpayer. These details, including your email address / telephone number, may be used to keep you informed about our future developments. If you do not want to receive such information please tick this box N11011U152FCY1G Donate online: www.smiletrain.org.uk OR call: 0870 127 6269 Registered Charity No. 1114748 © 2011 The Smile Train. A healthy diet during pregnancy can help prevent birth defects and clefts. Eat a healthy diet that contains lots of fruits and vegetables and foods fortified with folic acid. The U.K. Government recommends women should take sufficient levels of folic acid (400 micrograms/day) during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy to help prevent neural tube defects and reduce the risk for cleft lip and palate. When folic acid is taken one month before conception and throughout the first trimester, it has been proven to reduce the risk for neural tube defects by 50 to 70 per cent. Be sure to receive proper prenatal care, quit smoking and drinking alcohol and follow your health care provider’s guidelines for foods to avoid during pregnancy. Foods to avoid may include raw or undercooked seafood, beef, pork, poultry, delicatessen meats, fish that contain high levels of mercury, smoked seafood, fish exposed to industrial pollutants, raw shellfish, eggs, soft cheeses, unpasteurised milk, pâté, caffeine and unwashed vegetables. For more information, visit www.smiletrain.org.uk Friday January 7 2011 SCOTTISH CATHOLIC OBSERVER SUPPORT YOUR NATIONAL CATHOLIC NEWSPAPER NEWS 3 Cardinal offers reasons for hope in New Year message CARDINAL Keith O’Brien working age adults in Scotland has used his New Year mes- live in absolute poverty. More sage to say the past decade pervasive than these damning has seen British society statistics are the levels of spiritu- ‘lurch from one disaster to al and moral poverty... leaving another’ but counselled there only a minority of our population was still reason for hope. actively, involved in the practice The cardinal used the miracu- of their religious beliefs.” lous survival of the trapped The cardinal said that one Chilean miners last year as an news story in particular over the hopeful example. However he past year had given him hope. began his message by acknowl- “Throughout August, Sept- edging that ‘the dark days of win- ember and the beginning of ter can seem to overwhelm us.’ October for a total of 69 days, 33 “As 2011 approaches, it does miners in Chile were trapped not seem like a full 10 years since over half a mile beneath the the joy and hope of the new mil- desert in the San Jose mine.