Scottish Catholic Observer

In his homily at Mass for the Feast of the Holy Family in St Mary’s Cathedral, Aberdeen last week, Bishop Gilbert  said the scheme was ‘well intentioned’ but misguided and said Catholics should focus on the ‘rights and duties’ of the family, and think of ‘Jesus, Mary and Joseph’ as their named persons..

“We’ve all heard of the Scottish Government’s Named Person Scheme,” he said. “It has not yet passed into law, but is being piloted in various places, including here. It aims to provide each child in Scotland with a Named Person at the service of that child’s well-being. It’s well-intentioned. There are occasions, sadly, when outside intervention is needed, when children may need to be withdrawn from parents. But I know some young couples who’ve had experience of this, and are rightly disturbed.”

“Someone turns up on the doorstep: ‘I’m your Named Person,” he went on. “Do you own this house, or do you rent it? Are you paying a mortgage?’ Extraordinary. Intrusive. Clumsy. We’re not first of all wards of the State, but members of families. We’re sons or daughters before we are citizens. The family comes first, with the rights and duties of parents. There is reason to fear that, as it stands, the legislation will allow unwarranted interference in the lives of families. There are surely other ways the State could support families and children. We need to be vigilant.”

Last year the Scottish Government  delayed  implantation of the ‘Named Person’ scheme until August 2017 after the Supreme Court ruled that it’s data sharing policies were unlawful. Consulation of the policy continues.