The fact that the above Conference is advertised on the Facebook page of the Catholic Parliamentary Office of the Archdiocese of Glasgow is a scandal in and of itself. Catholic Parliamentary Office for Scotland | Facebook

Open House (OH) is a notoriously dissident journal. The one and only orthodox Catholic publication in Scotland, Catholic Truth (which closed operations in May 2023) reported regularly on the scandalous articles published in OH, highlighting the fact that the bishops permitted the spreading of the errors and false beliefs published in that journal despite their clear duty to prevent the spreading of such errors and false beliefs. Now, we have the Archdiocese of Glasgow no longer hiding its approval in plain sight but openly espousing said errors and false beliefs by providing a platform to the personnel of OH to promote their scandalous Conference. My own first instinct on reading about this event was to book a ticket – not because I want to hear the talks (I know that the whole thing will be a horror show for anyone with even a modicum of Catholic sense) but to see for myself the numbers and identities of the priests who attend. The attendees wearing Roman collars on that day, will speak volumes about the state of the Archdiocese of Glasgow. When I mentioned the forthcoming event to a friend, he replied with amazement that OH was still on the go, adding “I call them heretics, but they're actually apostates from the faith…”

One of the OH contributors, Joe Fitzpatrick, is a former priest of the neighbouring Diocese of Motherwell. In his writings, predictably, Fitzpatrick spouts the - how can I put it - er… predictable (and fake) claims about celibacy dating from the twelfth century, as if it is of no consequence that Christ (and His apostles) lived the celibate life in the first century. Fitzpatrick misleads readers by pointing to St Paul (1 Tim 3) where reference is made to a bishop only having one wife, as evidence that married clergy was the norm in the earliest days of the Church, ignoring the evidence of the Gospel itself that Christ’s first followers “left everything” to follow Him (Matthew 19:27), and ignoring the workings of the Holy Spirit as the Church’s teaching developed on everything, including vocations. Whatever. Fitzpatrick also argues, somewhat hilariously, that the story of Adam and Eve and the forbidden fruit is not about sin but about evolution. Sigh. Whatever…

In his article “Priesthood and modernity” Fitzpatrick offers a snapshot of the OH anything-but-Catholic mentality to which the Archbishop of Glasgow is hitching his star through supporting this Conference, as if he hasn’t already hitched his star to modernist errors. Quote follows.

Joe Fitzpatrick writes (emphases mine):

“We live in a time of transition in the Catholic Church. The certainties of yesteryear are gone. We no longer think we are the one true church, and the rest must learn from us. We have become aware of the changes in our own history and there appears to be a widely shared judgment that the Holy Spirit wishes our church to change*

There are those who refuse to change and condemn Pope Francis and this notion of synodality which he has introduced. Because we must attempt to make our church more relevant, more helpful to people, I would like to offer my thoughts on priesthood, and advocate changes that would make priests more responsive to the needs of people today. My argument is not about falling numbers or ageing priests, but about relevance and purpose.” Priesthood and modernity
*[Wrong! God wants each of US to change – from sin to sanctity. Not the Church, which is the Spotless Bride of Christ].

The speakers advertised on the OH Conference poster would not be there but for their Modernist (to say the least) credentials. I can’t recall the details now, but some years ago I attended a talk in Glasgow featuring the lovely Sr Gemma Simmonds, who had travelled up from England to share her imaginative ideas. She was decked out in tartan for the occasion, and I remember thinking that if she had taken half as much time to prepare her theological input as she had obviously taken with her Scottish outfit, all manner of things would have been well.

And then there’s Mary Cullen – Editor of Open House. Below, extracts from her account of her interview with Archbishop Nolan, OH 1 March 2024. My commentary in bold and italics. Link to the entire piece appended.
“Drawing on Pope Francis’ vision of a church which goes out into the world to share the joy of the Gospel, his pastoral focus is on evangelisation and the development of outward looking Christian communities. He speaks of investing in people rather than property, closing churches that were built for another age and developing a collaborative approach to decision making which involves lay people as well as clergy.
This is the usual gobbledegook, meaningless blether that we have come to expect from the Scottish Bishops. In fact, the churches in Glasgow were built to accommodate the large congregations which were the norm right up until the moment when the Holy Spirit arrived – when was it, again…. Oh yes, 1965. Seems He wasn’t crazy about packed churches.

One of the biggest challenges the church faces, he says, is to change the mindset that kept it for so long within its own walls.
What?!? Until the Vatican II era, the Church was alive and thriving, with missionaries worldwide bringing converts into the Church; we had regular parish missions bringing back the lapsed! “We need to change our mindset [to be more outgoing/missionary minded] …” Laugh? I thought I’d never start.

Under the heading of “Legacy” we read about the Archbishop’s work as Bishop of Galloway where he had laity involved in funerals etc. This is the typical Modernist trick of turning failure into success, and giving it a label – “Legacy” here means: we have hardly any priests, few showing an interest in joining the “hardly any” and so we recruit lay people to take on priestly tasks – crisis? What crisis? Listen: if your heart doesn’t sink when you see a woman dominating the sanctuary in any parish church, whether you are a priest or a lay person, you need to recognise that your understanding of the Catholic Faith is – to put it mildly – lacking by the ton-load. Real Catholics, male and female, are heartbroken at the sight.

Archbishop Nolan is also known for his commitment to Catholic Social Teaching. As President of the Justice and Peace Commission for almost a decade, he is a familiar figure at peace rallies and demonstrations at the gates of the Clyde Submarine Base at Faslane. Although never “a familiar figure” at pro-life events. He has visited the Calais refugee camp, spoken out passionately against the UK government’s policy on asylum seekers Although he has never spoken out passionately against abortion up to birth and announced the formation of the Scottish Bishops’ office for the Care of Creation ahead of COP 26 in Glasgow. Oh please… Gie’s a break!

Speaking about his experience of Glasgow, he notes the very walm welcome he was given. Rather than focus on empty pews, he spoke of strong faith, social activity and the commitment to justice he encountered: ‘like stars shining in the darkness of a clear night sky’.
“Strong faith”? In what way? How is that made manifest in parishes? There are still women in leading liturgical roles in once Catholic sanctuaries, with some of the “hardly any” priests not so much as batting an eyelid; none of those lay people with allegedly strong faith bat an eyelid either, let alone speak out against such outrages so close to the Tabernacle. Somebody needs to tell the Archbishop that “social activity and the commitment to justice” are not specifically “Catholic” concepts. Indeed, these are buzz words and phrases currently being used to cover up the lack of divine and Catholic Faith among priests and people in Glasgow.

Priorities

When asked about his priorities for the archdiocese, he answers with no hesitation: ‘Evangelisation. The good news. We can’t keep it to ourselves’. He speaks about Pope Francis’ first Apostolic Exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel, and its emphasis on ‘going forth’ to enhance the lives of others.
Now we’re into really crazy territory. The Archbishop goes on to argue, unconscionably, that evangelisation “has not been our tradition” … Read on.

‘The main barrier we need to overcome is our mindset. We, clergy and people, were not trained to think this way. We stayed within our communities and looked after ourselves. We need to evangelise those who are committed, those who have fallen away, and above all those outside the church. This has not been our tradition’.
Rubbish! We were taught this in preparation for our Confirmation! For pity’s sake, who does this Archbishop think he’s fooling? Prior to Vatican II, the Church was thriving thanks to the truly strong faith of the people nourished by the Mass of the saints and martyrs and sustained by the sacraments and devotions, rosary, Benediction etc. I wonder how many Glasgow parishes offered the traditional May Devotions this month, even one evening a week (in my youth, we had May Devotions, rosary, Benediction, Hymns to Our Lady, EVERY evening). We had young men and women joining Religious Orders to go across the world to evangelise, to win converts for Christ. These days, it would be easier to find Lord Lucan than to find the Catholic missionary spirit anywhere in Scotland. And that’s because, in no small measure, dissidents like Joe Fitzpatrick and his ilk have been allowed free rein to spread their false teaching within the Church for far too long now – primarily through the dissident publication Open House.

Now, Mary Cullen’s interview turns to money, money, money…

Last November [Archbishop Nolan] launched a £1 million evangelisation fund to encourage projects which reach those untouched by the Gospel message.

Archbishop Nolan said: ‘Parishes should be spending money on this kind of project anyway. We are challenged to make evangelisation – reaching out in faith to others – our principal objective. The resources we have, including our energies, our buildings, and our material resources, should all be directed towards this objective’.
The Archbishop speaks with forked tongue here. On the one hand, he is saying we must evangelise – go out and bring others in, blah blah. But what to do with those good souls whom we are blessed to win for Christ – where are they to go, since the “buildings”, the churches, are being closed right, left and centre. Makes no sense.

Pruning

This is the context in which he is tackling the issue of fewer priests, dwindling congregations and too many churches. Again, this is a glaring contradiction. How can we have too many churches if we are seriously evangelising? Seeking to bring back the lost and lapsed? He speaks of a ‘time of pruning’ which will involve discussions at parish and deanery level across the archdiocese (Yawn, yawn, more talking shops) to decide what can be closed or cut back in order to focus on what needs to grow. The aim is to have fewer parishes, fewer church buildings, new approaches to developing outward looking faith communities and greater responsibility for lay people.
And so, I repeat… Where are we to take those people whom we evangelise? The local mosque? That’s only partly a joke. And what greater responsibility can any lay person have than to live out our Confirmation duty to spread the Faith, to be Soldiers of Christ. Yet, instead of teaching that, the Archbishop is advertising for a youth officer – who will, by definition, not have been taught the Faith him/herself - to work with the young at a cool £33, 683.00 p.a. Truly, you couldn’t make it up. If I’d known there was money in it, I would never have spent all that time working the apostolate for free, thinking I had a Confirmation duty to exercise and spread my beautiful Catholic Faith. Advert on the website of the Archdiocese of Glasgow, which should read: Looking for the blind to lead the blind. If YOU were born after Vatican II and thus not had the privilege of a sound Catholic Education, we want to hire you to lead a Catholic youth movement! Instead, minus my sarcastic words in parenthesis, the advert reads: Do you have a love of the faith [you’ve never been taught] and a heart for young people [whatever that means]? Then this could be the job for you. The RCAG YOUTH office are currently recruiting for a TEMPORARY - YOUTH OFFICER (£33683.00) ... Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Glasgow - We are hiring! (rcag.org.uk)

Please read Mary Cullen’s article in its entirety at this link
The challenge of change

Finally…

There’s another reason why the Archbishop’s evangelisation projects won’t work. Even if new “converts” and the lapsed pour into what’s left of parish life in Glasgow, what will they hear from the pulpit - a letter to be read out on some political or moral issue OR a cycle of real sermons preached with conviction, about the dogmas of the Faith and the natural moral law. Sermons preached fearlessly and with conviction, arming the congregation to answer, adequately and with confidence, the Godlessness and immorality around them in their workplaces and places of leisure. Any chance? Not likely. The priests of the Archdiocese of Glasgow, generally speaking, show no sign of challenging the Archbishop’s plans to close down Glasgow, ironically in the name of Evangelisation. Attacking dogma, undermining morals and closing parish churches is a strange kind of “progress” so to many of us it seems that we are witnessing the death throes of the Church, not only in the Archdiocese of Glasgow but across Scotland. Requiescant in Pace.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!