Bellahouston: faith of our fathers

Pope Benedict XVIth celebrated Holy Mass with over 100.000 people in Glasgow's Bellahouston Park. The Mass came at the end of the Pope's first day in the United Kingdom. Philippa Hitchen is travelling with Pope Benedict and filed this report...
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A hundred thousand welcomes is the Gaelic expression the archbishop of Glasgow Mario Conti used at the opening of the Mass in Bellahouston Park and the welcome the Scottish people prepared for Pope Benedict has indeed exceed all the organisers’ expectations.
Here in the Catholic heartland of the country, up to 100.000 people turned out to take part in the first open air event of his visit to the UK, in the same leafy suburban park where Pope John Paul urged the spiritual heirs of St Andrew to hold fast to the faith that guided their forefathers throughout the upheavals and conflicts of past centuries.

Wrapped up well against the wind under clear blue skies, the crowds had begun to gather early on Thursday afternoon to enjoy an energetic warm up featuring the ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ star Susan Boyle from West Lothian and ‘Pop Idol’ winner Michelle McManus singing alongside an 800 strong choir and orchestra.
Noting the progress in ecumenical relations that has developed since his predecessor’s 1982 visit, Pope Benedict stressed that the evangelisation of culture is all the more important today when, he said, “a dictatorship of relativism threatens to obscure the truth about man’s nature and destiny..

"There are some who now seek to exclude religious belief from public discourse, to privatize it or even to paint it as a threat to equality and liberty. Yet religion is in fact a guarantee of authentic liberty and respect, leading us to look upon every person as a brother or sister."

The Pope urged his listeners to become clear voices of authentic Christian prayer and action in a society working for the true welfare of all its citizens. He urged young people in particular to avoid the ever present temptations of drugs and alcohol, pornography and promiscuous behaviour, held up as more attractive alternatives to the gospel values of love and service to others.

"There is only one thing which lasts: the love of Jesus Christ personally for each one of you. Search for him, know him and love him, and he will set you free from slavery to the glittering but superficial existence frequently proposed by today’s society."

Despite the regeneration and development of Glasgow that has gone on in recent decades since the decline of the ship building industry along the river Clyde, the city still struggles with high levels of alcohol and substance abuse, fuelled by poverty and family breakdown. Pope Benedict noted the vital role played by Catholic schools and the ancient Scottish universities in providing an education for young people and the city council has also been very active in setting up public arts and sports centres, including one located in Bellahouston park itself. Above all though, the Pope urged young people in Scotland not to be afraid and to follow in the footsteps of the great saints and evangelisers who have courageously handed down the faith in this land.

With Pope Benedict in the UK, I’m Philippa Hitchen