This years National Pilgrimage to Dunfermline, in honour of St Margaret of Scotland, is on Sunday 11th June 2017.
We are leaving from Glasgow at 10 am. If anybody wants a lift from Glasgow to Dunfermline, please phone or email as soon as possible 0141 433 2680 gospeloflifesisters@googlemail.com
The programme for the day is:
10 am: Pilgrims arrive and there will be regular guided tours of sites associated with St Margaret. Covered area in Pittencrief Park available for lunch.
2 pm: Procession led by Archbishop Cushley with the relic of St Margaret, leaves Pittencrief Park to walk through the streets of Dunfermline to St Margaret’s Memorial Church
3 pm: Holy Mass at St Margaret’s Memorial Church, followed by blessings with St Margaret’s relic
“This will be a real family event to which everybody in Scotland – not just Catholics – are invited given that St Margaret is an inspirational figure for all Scots as well as a heavenly protectress of the people of our land,” said Fr Chris Heenan, Parish Priest of St Margaret’s Memorial Church.
The roots of the summer pilgrimage dates back to June 1250 when the relics of Saint Margaret were translated to a new shrine in Dunfermline Abbey following her canonisation that year by Pope Innocent IV. An annual summer pilgrimage to Dunfermline soon emerged becoming a celebrated fixture within Scottish national life until the late 16th century. It was then re-established in 1899 and continued again until 1974. The pilgrimage was revived in 2015, after an absence 41 years.
http://stmargaretsdunfermline.co.uk/events/st-margarets-national-pilgrimage-2017/
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Tags: Dunfermline, pilgrimage, St Margaret of Scotland
Number of abortions:
12,063 abortions were carried out in Scotland in 2016 (11.6 per 1000 women), a similar number as in 2015 (12,134 abortions). The rate of abortion in England and Wales is higher (17.0 per 1000 women).
In 1968, when the Abortion Act was implemented, there were 1500 abortions. The number of abortions then steadily increased to a peak of 13,908 abortions in 2008. Since 2008 the number of abortions was falling, until a rise again last year.
Age group:
The highest rate of abortion in 2016 was for women in their 20’s, with 19.1 abortions per 1000 women aged 20-24 years old and 15.9 abortions per 1000 women aged 25 to 29 years old.
In the age group 30-39 years, there was a rise of 17.5% in the rate of abortion in 2015. The rate has stayed about the same in 2016.
The rate of abortion in teenagers has been falling since 2007. The abortion rate in under 16 year olds was 1.5 per 1000 girls. The abortion rate in 16-19 year olds was 14.6 per 1000.
Method of abortion:
Medical abortions (using drugs) were allowed in the UK since 1991, in 1992 16.4% of abortions were medical. In 2016, 82.9% of all abortions carried out were medical, 17.1% of abortions carried out were surgical.
73.5% of abortions took place under 9 weeks gestation.
Repeat abortions:
1/3 abortions are carried out in women who have previously had an abortion.
Reasons for abortion:
The vast majority of abortions are carried out due to social reasons (98.2% = 11,841 abortions).
Disability accounted for 1.8% of all abortions in 2016:
There were 214 abortions on the ground of risk of disability, which is the highest number yet. 75 were for chromosomal abnormalities (eg. Down’s syndrome), 49 were for conditions of the nervous system (eg. spina bifida), and 51 were for other structural abnormalities (eg. heart defect, kidney abnormality).
8 abortions (0.07% of all abortions) were carried out because there was a serious risk to the mother’s life.
For the full report, please click on this link https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Sexual-Health/Publications/2017-05-30/2017-05-30-Terminations-2016-Report.pdf?96633547545
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This year is the 50th anniversary of the passing of the 1967 Abortion Act in the UK. Sr Roseann is answering 50 questions about abortion, to mark the 50th anniversary.
Question 20: “What if a mother simply doesn’t want to be pregnant?”
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Tags: 50th anniversary of abortion act, abortion, pregnancy, pro-life, questions
Day for Life
Yesterday, 31st May, was the Feast of the Visitation and the Day for Life in Scotland. We celebrated with Mass in our chapel. The celebrant was Fr Ross Campbell. Sr Jess transitioned to the next stage of discernment and formation, noviciate.
Every day, at 3 pm, we say a prayer for life. This is a prayer to Our Lady, from the ‘Gospel of Life’ 105. We invite you to join us in this daily prayer:
“O Mary, bright dawn of the new world, Mother of the living, to you do we entrust the cause of life: Look down, O Mother, upon the vast numbers of babies not allowed to be born, of the poor whose lives are made difficult, of men and women who are victims of brutal violence, of the elderly and the sick killed by indifference or out of misguided mercy. Grant that all who believe in your Son may proclaim the Gospel of Life with honesty and love to the people of our time. Obtain for them the grace to accept that Gospel as a Gift ever new, the joy of celebrating it with gratitude throughout their lives and the courage to bear witness to it resolutely, in order to build, together with all people of good will, the civilisation of truth and love, to the praise and glory of God, the Creator and lover of life.”
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Tags: Day for Life, feast day, Gospel of Life
Thank you to St Augustine’s Parish in Milton, who collected £250 over lent to donate to our work at the Cardinal Winning Pro-Life Initiative. Sr Roseann joined them for Mass this morning and was presented with a cheque.
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Tags: donations
UK March for Life
Last Saturday, we had a 7 am start and 11 pm return on the coach from Glasgow to Birmingham, for the annual UK March for Life. After a 6 hour journey, we disembarked the coach and walked through a crowd of protestors to get to the gathering of thousands of pro-lifers.
A big stage and screen at the front of the area was the platform for talks and music. Stalls from various pro-life organisations lined one side and fast food vans lined the other side. There was an excitement and joy amongst those present. Our MCs for the afternoon, Niall and Louise, were from Scotland!
Speakers from each country of the UK talked about the past “50 years of abortion” and pro-life activities. Sr Roseann spoke about the pro-life movement in Scotland. The headline speakers were from the USA:
Lila Rose’s desire to be actively pro-life began at the age of 9 years old, when she saw a picture of an aborted baby. She runs Live Action, doing undercover investigations to expose the dangers and lies of the abortion industry in the U.S. She also showed an interesting video of interviews with members of the general public, who initially professed to be pro-choice but then changed their mind after watching an animation of an abortion procedure.
Catherine Adair used to work in an abortion clinic and came to the conclusion that abortion was wrong. She saw that women were not there because they had made a choice, but because they felt they had no choice. Her view on pro-lifers used to be that they would hate her, however when she approached the pro-life movement she found that she was welcomed with open arms. She encouraged those who are pro-choice now that it’s OK to change their opinion.
It was rather wet during the march itself. The march took longer than expected due to protestors blocking the route at one point. Those leading the pro-life side got down on their knees to pray, as the police brought reinforcements to move the protestors out of the way. The march then continued as planned. What a beautiful witness people’s patience was. We look forward to next year’s March for Life and hope that it will grow in numbers year on year.
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Tags: 50th anniversary of abortion act, abortion, march for life
This year is the 50th anniversary of the passing of the 1967 Abortion Act in the UK. Sr Roseann is answering 50 questions about abortion, to mark the 50th anniversary.
Question 19: “What should I say to a woman who tells me she is pregnant but does not know what to do?”
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Dear friends,
We ask that you help us in prayer over the next couple of weeks.
The next Rachel’s Vineyard Retreat will take place on 13th – 15th June – a healing retreat for those who are struggling with the aftermath of abortion. Sr Andrea is one of the organisers of this retreat, along with a fantastic, small team.
Please help to play your part in the success of the retreat by generating some solid prayer in the run up by committing to a rosary for this intention. You can put your name down for as little or as much as you like – the more prayer the better! Please pray for those attending and those facilitating the retreat.
Here is the link to use to sign up for the prayer rota: https://beta.doodle.com/poll/izfetscrsqby5txw
God Bless and thank you.
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An MS patient in Inverness has deferred his plans to end his life at an assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland, after another MS patient contacted him and encouraged him to seek more support. This contact and support has given him a new optimism about life.
A video about this story can be viewed on the BBC website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-39940143
We believe in the value of every human life. This story shows what a positive difference personal contact and support from each one of us can have on another person’s life when they are struggling.
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Tags: assisted suicide, disability, pro-life
This year is the 50th anniversary of the passing of the 1967 Abortion Act in the UK. Sr Roseann is answering 50 questions about abortion, to mark the 50th anniversary.
Question 18: “Is adoption really an answer?”
Filed under: Abortion, adoption, Education, pro-life, Video | Leave a Comment
Tags: 50th anniversary of abortion act, abortion, adoption, questions, video
