The Catholic Church in Paisley is issuing an extraordinary appeal during the month of June 2022 to anyone who may have been affected by any kind of abuse at the hands of clergy or church officials. The Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) is conducting an external review of the Diocese of Paisley to hear from people with first-hand experience of how the Diocese has responded to reports of abuse. Anyone who may wish to report on their experience should contact SCIE directly by email at [email protected] or by phone on 07921 251614.  SCIE will then get in touch to arrange a time to report to the auditors in a way that suits each individual. To access the letter from SCIE Learning Together requesting help with the independent review, and for more information, please visit https://rcdop.org.uk/independent-review

National Safeguarding Conference that will take place on 1st October 2022 in the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. Addressing the theme ‘Walking together in Safeguarding: a journey of personal and communal conversion’, the Conference will provide an excellent opportunity for all those responsible for Safeguarding in the Church to gather together again and to ‘refresh’ their understanding of, and commitment to, safeguarding. The timing of the conference will provide an ideal platform for the launch of the new Scottish Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency, allowing participants to talk with Lady Rae and the SCSSA Board members and staff about their plans for the agency. The Conference will also feature a contribution from Fr Hans Zollner SJ who is an internationally renowned expert on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. Programme details will be provided later. We want to encourage people to register early for the conference so that we can ensure that we have sufficient capacity (both physically and virtually) to meet the demand which we expect to be large. Here is a link to an online form which will record participants’ registration details for the conference: https://bit.ly/39dsFPq .

The National Thanksgiving  Mass to mark 100 years of the Legion of Mary will be held at Carfin Grotto on Sunday, 29th of May at 3 pm. All active and auxiliary members, past and present, are warmly invited to come along. Family and friends are most welcome too.

Congratulations to our Primary 7 pupils who will celebrate their Confirmation in St. Cadoc's Church at 7pm. St. Cadoc’s Primary: 23rd, 24th & 26th May + St. Clare’s Primary: 6th June A sincere thank you to all Parents/Carers, School Staff and Parishioners who have supported our young people in their preparations for this very special Sacrament. Please remember to keep our young parishioners in your prayers.

We are holding a community Children's Clothing Swap Event at Mearns Kirk Halls on Saturday 18 June (2pm - 4.30pm) to which we warmly invite you all. Drop off times: Sunday 12/6 11am-12pm; Monday 13/6 9am -10am; Tuesday 14/6 9am -10am; Friday 17/6 6pm –8pm; Saturday 18/6 10am -12pm. Maximum of 10 items. Bring your own bags. All proceeds to Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity. More details available via Facebook—MK Swap. Click on the title to see poster.

From Thursday 12th May (our first Vigil of our new season), you are invited to join us each Thursday evening from May- October. We will revert to our pre-Covid format: church and hall open from 7pm; rosary procession round the grounds (weather permitting); Mass, followed by a period of Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament with Benediction.This will give us the perfect opportunity to respond to the plea from our Holy Father Pope Francis that we implore Our Blessed Lady for peace in Ukraine. All welcome!

Please take some time to read the most recent issue of Safeguarding Matters, the newsletter of the new Scottish Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency which can be found on our Diocesan website www.rcdop.org.uk  It introduces the members of the SCSSA Board; advertises 2 full-time vacancies in the agency; and announces details of the National Safeguarding Conference that will take place on 1st October 2022.

You are invited to attend a ‘Street Party’ to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee on Friday 3rd June from 1-5pm. Tickets are available TODAY. Please ensure that you get your invitation before leaving. The Committee are looking for musicians and entertainers from within the parish to volunteer their gifts and talents to entertain our guests – It will be a time of fun, food, drinks, camaraderie, and hopefully high temperatures. Please contact Canon Eddie should you wish to volunteer. THANK YOU.

Beginning next week, St. Cadoc’s will serve as a Collection Point for the East Renfrewshire Foodbank. The following items can be placed in the trolley provided at the entrance to the church: JAM, SUGAR, UHT MILK, LONGLIFE FRUIT JUICE, TINNED PEAS, TINNED CARROTTS, TINNED CHICK PEAS, TINNED CREAMED RICE, TINNED CUSTARD, HAND WASH. If you wish further information about the Foodbank, please contact Agnes Brown on 07803052132 .

YOUCAN Scotland presents a weekend retreat Friday 17th –Sunday 19th June 2022. Guided by the Benedictines of Pluscarden Community the retreat ends with a Corpus Christi Procession. Cost: £50 full board excluding Sunday lunch. For more details contact Rina on [email protected]

PILGRIMAGE to IONA with St Francis Parish, Port Glasgow: Tuesday 27th -Thursday 29th September 3 days/2nights staying at The Royal Hotel, Oban with a day trip to Iona. Includes: Travel (including ferries) Half board accommodation at The Royal Hotel, Oban (fully en-suite) Guided visit to the Abbey on Iona A three course dinner Cost: £280 approx. (based on 2 sharing – single supplement) To book please contact Father Matthew at [email protected] or 01475 700 700

In these unsettled times across the world, Catholics are invited to rediscover Our Lady of Fatima’s appeal for First Saturdays Devotions to pray for the conversion of the world and peace on earth. The First Saturdays are an appeal to return to the Sacrament of Confession, to attend Holy Mass in a state of grace, to pray the Rosary—the spiritual weapon for these times—and to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and meditation on the Sacred Scriptures. Join Bishop John in St Mirin's Cathedral or online from 8am on Saturday 7th May for Mass, Adoration, Rosary, Scriptural Meditation and Simple Benediction. Mass will also be celebrated at 10am, followed by the opportunity for the Sacrament of Confession. STREAM LINK: https://www.rcdop.org.uk/events/first-saturday-fatima-devotions

As part of the safe recruitment procedures for the Catholic Church in Scotland, new volunteers undertaking regulated work should complete an application form for their role, apply to become a member of the PVG scheme and attend Safeguarding PART ONE Training. - Safeguarding PART TWO Training session is for volunteers who have previously attended Safeguarding Training Part One, or, Safeguarding Training Level One, more than eighteen months ago. - If you would like to attend one of these training sessions please contact SarahJane Colhoun on 0141 847 6138 or [email protected] - Safeguarding Training Video for New Volunteers is available on our Parish web. CLICK ON THE TITLE TO ACCESS ALL TRAINING DATES + VENUES IN 2022 . N.B. The Safeguarding Training Video for New Volunteers is also available to view on our Parish web.                                                                                                                           

“We are pleased to confirm dates for Marriage Preparation courses in 2022. Each course will consist of two 90-minute Zoom sessions and one 3-hour workshop, which will be held in the Diocesan centre or Cathedral Hall, depending on numbers. We piloted this format in September of 2021 with very positive feedback. Should any of these arrangements require amendment due to Covid restrictions we will inform you and the couples of any changes directly. Couples should be directed to register via the Marriage and Family page on the Diocesan website, or by using this link https://rcdop.org.uk/marriage-preparation-day-registration-form The cost for the course per couple is £30 which includes an information pack, CTS booklet ‘Cherish your wedding’ and refreshments during the workshop. Once couples have registered we will contact them directly regarding attendance at the course and will send them a certificate of completion.” John and Liz Holmes, Marriage & Family Office Diocese of Paisley - ALL DATES FOR 2022 ARE ON PARISH WEB.

The posts have been offered to all dioceses in Scotland with a grant of £75K funding for each diocese over five years, in extension of a successful roll out to Catholic dioceses in England and Wales.  Michael Hepburn, our new Diocesan Director of Music, has generously accepted this role in a voluntary capacity.

“May 24th, the feast of Our Lady Help of Christians, was designated by Pope Benedict XVI as an annual worldwide day of prayer for the Chinese Church. ACN asks all people of good will to pray for the Church in China, so that our courageous brothers and sisters persevere, be strengthened in their faith and in all difficulties, anguish and distress.”

The AGM of the Scalan Association is due to take place on Tuesday 24 May, beginning with Mass in The Scalan at 12.30. Tea/coffee will be provided afterwards at the Braes Hall, Chapeltown of Glenlivet. Please bring your own eatables. The meeting proper will begin at 1.30pm and end by 3.00pm.  The Annual Mass is arranged for Sunday 3 July at 4pm prompt. Bishop Toal has agreed to preach the homily. AB37 9JS is a useful postcode for both events.

All Parishioners should be aware there have been a number of scams email pretending to be from Parish Priests, asking for payments to be made or for vouchers to be purchased on behalf of the priest. The latest emails are not from our official @rcdop.org.uk domain but even if they appeared to be - DO NOT RESPOND to the emails. Our Diocesan policy is that we will never email you to make any purchase or bank transfer on our behalf. If you do get such an email, please contact your Parish Priest preferably by phone or create a new email to the Parish (i.e. do not reply to the one you received). A good general principle is that you do not respond to unsolicited emails.

The Friends of Divine Mercy Scotland invite you to a Divine Mercy Mass at 7p.m. followed by Adoration which will be celebrated by Monsignor Joe Burke at St Mary’s Church,163 George Street, Paisley PA1 2UN. All are welcome. These devotions will be held on the last Wednesday of every month. Next date: 29th June.

You are invited to a meeting in the Pastoral and Social Centre on Monday 16th May at 6pm if you are interested in becoming a member of the group, or if you would like to learn something of what the group does.