HUNDREDS of young Scots have responded with great enthusiasm to the Caritas
Award, named in honour of Pope Benedict XVI.
Introduced less than a year ago, the inaugural award ceremony takes place in
Glasgow, next month, with 450 senior school pupils set to receive a certificate
and medal.
Michael McGrath, director of the Scottish Catholic Education Service which
introduced the scheme, said: “The Caritas Award is inspired by the encouragement given by Pope Benedict to
young people to dedicate their lives to growing in holiness and to the practice
of virtue.
“It recognises and promotes the active faith commitment of young people in their
final year of secondary school.
“We invited young people to demonstrate that love can be an extraordinary force
in life.”
The response in the pilot year has gone far beyond expectations.
“We have been staggered by the enthusiasm of so many young people eager to give
witness to their faith through acts of service offered within their school and
parish communities,” Mr McGrath said.
At St Peter the Apostle High School in Clydebank 26 senior pupils are in line to
receive the Caritas Award at the Clyde Auditorium ceremony on 2 June.
During an evening for parents, teachers, parishioners and their peers marking
the launch of the new Religious Education syllabus This Is Our Faith, they gave
powerful testimony to the effect Caritas has had.
Leyla Harvey said: “Caritas is the most rewarding thing I have done in my time at school. It has
given me a new confidence in my faith. Before, I never went to church, because
I thought it was un-cool.
“Caritas has taught me just how much God truly loves us and never gives up on us.
It has also helped me to appreciate that the most fulfilling thing in life is
to serve others and contribute together to create a just society.”
Similar experiences were related by other pupils who had devoted their time and
energy to helping in St Margaret’s Hospice, visiting Barlinnie Prison, helping with the Cardinal Winning Pro-Life
Initiative and taking part in parish liturgies.
Craig Hunter and Heather Black joined in the RCIA catechesis programme in their
parish of St Mary’s, Duntocher.
They said: “Before the Caritas Award most of us didn’t do anything in the parish. It has given us the opportunity to deepen our faith
and to become more active members of the community.”
Other young parishioners helped out at the children’s liturgy alongside parish catechist Marie Lindsay and with the enthusiastic
backing of parish priest Fr Joe Mills.
He said: “The Caritas Award has helped to galvanise the involvement of young people in the
life of the parish. As they grow in their understanding of faith, so the desire
to express it in practical service also develops.
“The Award signals an extraordinary hope for the future.”
That view was shared by Archbishop Mario Conti who took part in the launch of
This Is Our Faith at St Peter the Apostle and heard the pupils’ testimonies on the Caritas Award.
He said: “I have been hugely impressed by all I have seen and heard from the young people
and their teachers.
“It is wonderful to hear how the Caritas Award has enabled teenagers to value
their faith, express it with such confidence and become involved in their
parishes.”
He added: “One of the key aims of the Caritas Award is to promote partnership between
Catholic schools and local parishes. I am delighted to see St Peter the Apostle
High School and the parishes in the Clydebank area working so well together as
a team towards achieving this goal.”
