NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

    LONDON (CWNews.com) - Frances Shand Kydd -- mother of Diana Princess of Wales -- on Wednesday launched a charity record to raise funds for handicapped children visiting Lourdes.

    "Will You Walk on By?" is sung by former Runrig lead singer Donnie Munro and will raise money for HCPT, The Pilgrimage Trust, which Shand Kydd has supported for the last decade. It will be launched in the US between Christmas and New Year.

    Shand Kydd stressed that this was a one-time charity project and that the record captured many of the concerns close to her late daughter's heart. "The first moment I heard it I knew it was special," she said. "It captured all the concerns both Diana and I cared about. I have always been reluctant to put my name to anything, but this is the one exception -- it is a beautiful song with a heartfelt message that should be heard by everyone."

    She added, "I hold dear, very dear, events and happenings which try to continue her caring and I think that is what tributes should be about, not just remembering somebody because they are dead, but because what they were to the world and live on continuously. I would not be involved in anything that was not ongoing of her concerns. I never really ever wanted to put my name to anything when she was alive or dead -- but this is the one-off exception."

    Twice-divorced Shand Kydd, who converted to Catholicism in 1994, has only used her celebrity status for one other cause -- to raise funds to built the first Catholic chapel and retreat house on the Scottish island of Iona in 400 years.

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