Scottish Catholic Observer

The arrival of a Christian democratic party on the Scottish political scene is neither unexpected nor would it necessarily be unwelcome. Michael Elmer, leader of the Centre Democrats in England and Wales, spoke of the history of Christian democrats in the UK, and in Scotland, when he came north of the border last weekend to discuss working to launch the Scottish Centre Democrats this autumn.

Voters today increasingly change their allegiance according to the issues rather than voting along traditional party—or should it be religious—lines. However, in recent years many Christians—the Catholic bishops of Scotland among them—have taken serious issue with key policies of the main UK political parties in power: the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill; equality legislation, euthanasia (more on this later) and redefining marriage to name but a few. Often such legislative proposals have been seen as a betrayal of traditional Christian vales.

However, it would be short-sighted for any fledgling party to be defined by a topical single issue—such as independence—when the current party forming the Scottish Government appears to be struggling to evolve past that self-same issue.

The Scottish Centre Democrats may well find support in the centre ground, sweeping up more than a few disenchanted and disenfranchised voters along the way. It would do well to put the equal due diligence into developing what it proposes and opposes so that prospective voters have a clear idea of what it stands for and who it stands with.

On the controversial subject of euthanasia, rarely has a Council of Europe ruling come at a more opportune, or widely reported, moment as the recent call for a ban on euthanasia and assisted suicide in every country in the continent.

The declaration, that is non-binding but will have legal implications in its 47 member states, states that such practices ‘must always be prohibited.’ It came after last week’s Scottish Catholic Observer went to press reporting Margo MacDonald MSP was opening another consultation on legalising assisted suicide in Scotland.

This European pro-life victory shows that ‘progressive’ Scotland, to coin Labour leader Ed Miliband’s phrase in his speech in Glasgow this week, is out of step with the rest of Europe when it comes to this issue.

The Council of Europe’s statement that ‘euthanasia, in the sense of the intentional killing by act or omission of a dependent human being for his or her alleged benefit must always be prohibited’ echoes the stance of the Catholic Church, both in Scotland and throughout the world.